


What Happens...

by StoriesBeyondTheStars



Series: What Happens In... [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: A bit of swearing, Alpha Lance (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Child OCs, Established Relationship, Intersex Character, M/M, Married Klance, Omega Keith (Voltron), Pregnancy, Shallura was established pre S7, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-02 01:26:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 49,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21153302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StoriesBeyondTheStars/pseuds/StoriesBeyondTheStars
Summary: A potential series of oneshots/drabbles that take place in my What Happens universe. It is A/B/O, but without all the bad connotations, and smut free! Any warnings will be tagged at the beginning of individual chapters so I don't have a mountain of tags.These all take place after What Happens In Vegas, and What Happens In A Year. They may reference things or events from those stories.Chapters 1 - 12 are one story arc. 13 and on are oneshots that will jump around in time.





	1. ...With A Discovery

There was something exciting about being out on the open ocean with nothing but a team and crew that was working with you towards your goals. The name of the game was research, and the topic they were interested in were sharks. They were looking for specific ones, but Lance loved all of them and was way too excited when they spotted a great white nearby when he was in the water. Most people would be terrified, but not him. Lance was cautious and prepared, not about to take stupid risks, but was still excited over the whole ordeal. He was living the dream he had for _years_, and he loved it.

At the same time though, Lance also hated it and wanted to be back home. It was a bone deep feeling that he couldn’t quite shake no matter what he did. Of course, Lance knew _why_ he felt that way, it didn’t just come out of nowhere. He just really missed his mate.

It was difficult for mates to be away from one another for long periods of time, specifically if they happened to be the combination of alpha and omega. Those two were by far the most dynamic of the dynamics. Beta and beta couples, as well as alpha and beta, and omega and beta, could feel that same instinctive pull towards the person they bonded with when they were apart, but it was a lot more intense for alphas and omegas. Possibly because of those deep protective and slightly possessive instincts that they had.

What it came down to was that Lance missed Keith a lot. The longest they’d been apart since bonding with one another was a week, and that drove him a tad crazy. It was easy to focus on his work, but when everything settled down at nighttime, the longing came back like a persistent bug that wouldn’t leave him be.

At least they could talk and text whenever they wanted, albeit texting was easier due to the time difference. Lance’s favourite thing was when they got to video chat with one another. It let him _see_ that his husband was okay, satisfying some weirdo alpha instinct a little bit.

When the call connected, he neatly whined at the sight of his husband. God, he was both so beautiful and so handsome that it was almost unfair, except for the fact that Lance only benefitted from it. He wanted to stare into those expressive indigo eyes framed with thick lashes, and run his fingers through that soft, dark hair and across pale, smooth skin. He wanted to kiss those pink lips, even though he could clearly tell that Keith wasn’t using chapstick lately. The heathen.

Keith listened to him, and not in a way where he let Lance ramble on while tuning out. He asked questions and made comments, genuinely interested in Lance’s day and his research, even if he didn’t completely understand it. Normally, Keith’s expression shifted quite openly when he was talking to Lance alone (where most people thought he only had one mood: bitchy). That day though, there was a soft smile on his face the entire time. A smile that reached his eyes and made him positively light up.

The omega tilted his head on the screen and asked, “You okay?”

Oh. He must have gotten distracted. He sighed and said, “Just thinking about how amazing you are.” Keith snorted at that, clearly amused. “What? You’re all smiley today, and I love you! I can’t wait to come home! I mean, I’m having fun but I miss you.” He didn’t at all feel embarrassed about admitting that. “Oh! Have you looked into those links I sent you for Disney?” He really wanted to go there for a late honeymoon.

An odd expression played over Keith’s features. “Oh, um, I don’t actually think we’ll be able to do that.”

Lances face fell a bit and worry overtook him. “What? Why?” Had something happened? Lance was so sure they were going to have the money for it.

“Well, we _can_ go,” Keith corrected. “I just can’t go on any of the rides.” He leaned down and fumbled with something else out of view of the camera.

Now the worry started gnawing at his stomach. “What happened? Are you okay?” His mind raced with ideas as he started planning out how he could tell his supervisor that he needed to cut his own research trip short to go back home.

Keith sat back up straight and said, “I bought this today. What do you think?”

Lance was about to protest because why the hell did he care that Keith bought a _teddy bear_ when there was something clearly wrong with him that he had to cancel their small honeymoon trip? But then his eyes fell to the buttery yellow shirt on the bear. In the middle of it was a pink heart and blue script words that read ‘Baby’s First Bear’.

He started blankly for a moment, not comprehending what he was looking at. His eyes shot from the bear, to Keith’s smiling face, and back to the bear. Then everything settled in, and Lance felt like he got sucker punched. “Oh my god. Are you—is that—oh my god!” He was going to be _sick_, but not in a bad way. It was nerves and excitement and disbelief, and so much more all in an overwhelming twist. “You’re _pregnant_?”

That _would_ explain why he couldn’t go on rides.

Keith’s small grin broke into a broad one that he’d clearly been holding back. “Dr. Tsai’s email should be getting to you soon, but I wanted to tell you myself.” He fixed him with a particularly unimpressed look. “You know, we agreed to try in a few months. You didn’t have to _immediately_ get me pregnant.”

Holy shit. Hol-ee shit! Keith was _pregnant_. There was a _baby_ in there. Albeit, a very, very small baby, but still, a baby. He was going to throw up! His mind went in 50 different directions, and Lance swore that he was going to explode. “I’m going to be a dad.” He muttered that first part to himself, but then the excitement took hold and he whooped loudly. Lance couldn’t stop himself from jumping up and leaning out the door to yell, “I’m going to be a dad!” He heard cheers from the other crew as he rushed back into the room to grab the screen again. “How do you feel? Are you okay? Are you feeling sick? Who else knows?”

Keith laughed. “Calm down. Deep breaths.”

“Right, deep breaths. I can do that. I—holy shit.” Lance’s eyes started watering as his heart pounded. They were having a _baby_. It was something that he’d been picturing more and more in the weeks after Keith was cured from the potentially fatal virus that he contracted, especially since he knew how much his mate wanted it too. They _agreed_ to try for a baby after Lance came back home.

“I feel okay. A bit tired, but no nausea or anything yet,” Keith answered while Lance was still internally freaking out. “The only other person that knows is Dr. Tsai. And his secretary. But I didn’t tell anyone. Wanted you to be the first.”

A thick, heavy emotional pleasure rushed through Lance, and though he was an alpha, he had the urge to purr. His heart twisted and his mind once again went over how he could break the news that he needed to leave to everyone else. It would cut the entire project. “God, I want to come home. Like, right now.”

He expected Keith to be happy, but that wasn’t what Lance got at all. Instead, he got a fierce glare. “Don’t you _dare_. You, Lance McClain, are going to study your sharks and wild life. You’re going to use that info in your thesis. You’re going to blow everyone away and graduate. Then you’re going to get an awesome job because I can’t, because kids are expensive and I’m not driving them around in that beast of a car. I’m _not_. The apartment we can deal with, the car…we at least have to get a slightly newer used one.” He spoke with absolute certainty, as if he knew that Lance would succeed at everything he wanted to do. And damn if that wasn’t inspiring.

“Alright, alright. I’ll stay. And we’ll get that car. My tio mentioned that he was thinking of selling his, and it’s pretty knew.” His face flushed. “Honestly, he kept bringing it up around me, so I think that he’s trying to tell me something. He’s really into cars, you know.”

Keith snorted, no doubt knowing exactly what uncle he was talking about.

“But,” Lance’s smile fell as another realization came to him, “I’m going to miss two whole months.” Two whole months that he wouldn’t be there with his mate as he struggled to the weary beginning stages of pregnant. He didn’t like that at all.

“The majority of betas don’t even realize they’re pregnant until they’re in the second month. Some even later,” Keith pointed out bluntly. Bless him for not skirting around the facts. “It’s fine. You won’t miss anything. The first visit to the doctor’s isn’t even until eight weeks, and we booked it for when you’d be home. Seriously, I won’t even look any different.” He bit his lip. “And, you know, I kind of wait to wait to tell anyone about this until you get home. Maybe wait until after three months?”

That was all very true, and Lance felt himself calming down. The first few months of pregnancy could be very touch and go, and though miscarriages could happen at any time, it was more likely to happen in the beginning. No parents that wanted their baby wanted that to happen, and though early, this baby was very much wanted. “Okay, okay we can do that. Tell everyone together.” He smiled broadly as he finally let his tears fall. “I love you. I love you so much.”

Keith returned the smile almost bashfully. “I love you too.”

“We’re having a baby, Keith. You’re growing one inside of you right now,” Lance added in pure awe. “That’s _amazing_.” It really, really was, and suddenly, Lance couldn’t wait to go back home. He wanted to spoil his mate, give him foot rubs and go on wild late night food runs for him. He wanted to be there for it all, good and bad.

They were going to have a baby, and Lance couldn’t wait.

…

Someone once told Keith that he’d know when it happened to him. That all omegas knew when they were expecting. It was a feeling they had. A deep omegan instinct. He shrugged that aside, because honestly, it was bullcrap. Of course they knew. They had sex when they were in heat. They didn’t get their periods afterwards. They started showing symptoms. Simple. The likelihood of an omega becoming pregnant after an unprotected heat was extemely high as it was. He didn’t _just know_ the first time it happened to him. Though, to be fair, he was severely traumatized to the point where he wouldn’t let any doctors near him outside of putting a cast on him. He didn’t know anything at all at the time.

Yet, somehow, Keith found that he did just know. His period showed up a little late after his heat last time (which was a tad strange but not unheard of by any means—sometimes hormones were weird), so he didn’t think much of the fact that it was late as he helped Lance pack up for his research trip and leave a measly two days after his heat ended.

The only thing on his mind was that, while he was ridiculously proud of his mate, he was also going to be gone for two months, and Keith was going to miss him. He’d be able to function and do his daily stuff, of course, because there wasn’t that kind of unhealthy codependency between them. He’d still miss him though. Lance took his pills, and they were generally very good at preventing pregnancies (because god forbid an alpha have that decision taken away from them). So really, there was no reason the thought should have been on his mind.

It was a couple weeks later when Keith was cleaning up the bathroom and saw the unused sanitary pads that he realized there hadn’t been a drop of blood on his briefs. That gave him pause, and made him wonder.

With any cure, medicine, or vaccine, there came side effects. When Keith was treated for the Omega Flu, he’d been in a medically induced coma and only had the potential side effects told to him briefly. He didn’t remember anything involving heats though.

A deep-seated fear rose up within him. In the past, it had been debated whether it was the treatment for the flu that rendered omegas infertile, or the flu itself. Most didn’t think on it, but with the emergence of it, people were debating it again. Especially since the new vaccine was said to avoid those awful side effects.

What if it wasn’t the medicine though? What if Keith’s period didn’t come because he was damaged now? What if the doctors were wrong when they said that he was okay?

The thought nearly sent him spiralling into panic, and it took a while to clear his thoughts out again, because another idea came to him. That wasn’t the only option of why he skipped his period. There was another option that could happen to any omega, or female beta (or female alpha, as research was slowly bringing to light). It could have been the exact opposite.

Keith pressed his hand against his stomach as he thought it over. Yes, Lance used his contraceptives, but he also went into a rut mid-way through Keith’s heat, and that _could_ render the pills useless. It didn’t happen to them last time, but that didn’t mean much.

So he was left at a crossroads of two possibilities, the extreme opposite of one another. Either something was wrong with him and he couldn’t carry anymore, or he was _already_ carrying. Keith knew which one he preferred, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up.

They were going to wait until after Lance’s trip, but they already agreed to have a baby together. It wasn’t even _that_ early, just a few months.

Keith could have gone to the pharmacy to get a pregnancy test, but if it came back negative, he’d probably lose his mind. No, it was best to be at the doctor’s office already, just in case.

He didn’t tell Lance about what was going on that night during their phone call. His husband would eventually get a notification of Keith’s trip to the doctor, but that usually came after any form of diagnosis. He didn’t tell Acxa when he talked to her. He didn’t tell his mother. He didn’t tell Lance’s family, or even Pidge when he had to decline her invitation to come over.

Instead, he made a nest. A soft, warm, comfortable nest that smelled like him and his mate, and just laid in it. He held a pillow close to him with one hand, the other resting on his abdomen. Keith knew what he wanted the results of his visit to be, and it was too late to stop from feeling hopeful. He was already there. That was what brought him back to the thought of omegas just knowing, and how he used to scoff at that. Maybe it was misplaced hope, but he really, really felt like he _knew_ now.

Luckily, Keith was able to get an early appointment with Dr. Tsai. That probably had more to do with the fact that Keith was one of his patients he was monitoring a little more closely. The antivirus used to heal him was tested in other countries, but it was a first in the US. The doctor wanted to make sure, especially given Keith’s past with the person who created the vaccine.

When he got to the Dr. Tsai’s office and explained everything, the first thing the doctor did was help him with a very fancy, state of the art pregnancy test. With just a drop of blood it could apparently deduce if a person was pregnant within _seconds_. Well, an omega. It took longer for betas.

Within seconds, Keith found himself tearing up because of the positive test in front of him. He wasn’t broken like he’d been worried about. He was pregnant! That feeling had been right!

“Is this an unwanted pregnancy?” Dr. Tsai asked him gently. He was a kind man, and knew Lance’s family well. He wasn’t one of those doctors that would scoff at him if he was upset over the whole thing.

“No,” Keith answered with a shake of his head. He _wanted_ a baby. He made that pretty clear to Lance. “We were just going to wait until after he came home. But, you know, given the other thing that could have been wrong, this is okay.” Somehow, even though he already knew, the confirmation that there was a baby growing inside of him made him want his mate more than ever. He managed to get a grip on his emotions and asked, “I know you have to inform him, but can you delay the email until I tell him? Just 24 hours?”

Dr. Tsai’s eyes softened. “Yes, of course.” All alphas were informed about omega pregnancies within hours of the omega finding out, unless otherwise requested. One of the good things about the rich omegas wanting to surprise their alphas.

Well, Keith wasn’t a rich omega, but he wanted Lance to hear it from him.

They booked the next appointments with a trusted specialist, especially since though Keith’s health was fine now, he had gone through a miscarriage in the past. That instantly labelled his pregnancy a little riskier, even if just on paper. Not to mention the fact that he once suffered from the Omega Flu.

His pregnancy. It didn’t really hit Keith until he was back home, in his nest, that he was _actually_ pregnant. A grin spread across his lips and he couldn’t stop himself from laughing gleefully as his hands went to his stomach. Sure, it was a few months sooner than expected, but that was okay. When he thought about it, he knew that a part of him _wanted_ to try for a baby during his last heat anyway, but they decided to put it off for a few more months.

Being sick made him realize just how much he wanted to experience this, and now that he was, he was over the moon about it.

Keith had the strong urge to call Acxa when he knew that she’d be home from her classes. It would be nice to tell his sister, because she was there for him during the hardest part of his life. This time it was the same result, but with a situation so different that it made everything, well, different.

Keith knew it was hypocritical of him, but already he considered the cells within him his baby. He would fight for it. If someone told him he couldn’t have it, he would actually fight them for it. Last time, he made a very different choice, but that was the point. He got to choose the what was best for him. Best for his baby.

The first time he got a positive pregnancy test back would have led to a life of torture and horror for him and the many pups he would have been forced to have. He knew now that any alphas would have been turned into abusers, omegas would have literally been sold off to the highest bidder, and betas would have been abused and seen as worthless. The kids that monster had with his next victim were already traumatized by the abuse that their mother just managed to take them from. Even if he was in jail now, he still had control over all of their lives.

That could have been Keith if he didn’t make the choice he had. So, he couldn’t regret the decisions his younger self made. He regretted that he ever _had_ to make a choice in the first place, but not what his choice was. He wouldn’t let that linger over him. In fact, he liked to think that if there was a higher power out there, it would understand.

The thing was, a part of Keith always did long for a family in some form. He had such good, but faint memories of life with his mother, father, and sister, before everything fell apart. Being temporarily away from Lance was hard, and he couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to lose him for good. He used to blame his mother for her breakdown after his father passed. The breakdown that landed him and Acxa in foster care. Now though, he understood. He also wouldn’t have met Shiro if he didn’t end up in foster care. Or maybe he would have since they did share the same father, but who knew?

He grew to appreciate the found family he somehow managed to create along with the small biological family he had left. It meant the world to him, and honestly, that was really, really what he wanted in life. Sure, he would have loved to have been able to pursue a career he was interested in, but Keith was an omega and his prospects were slim. The desire to have a family with someone who would make him smile as much as his dad made his mom smile? To have a house full of laughter and love? Yeah, he wanted that a lot.

It was partially why he wanted to tell his sister. Acxa was there through all that pain, and that was why a part of him wanted to call and tell her. But he knew he should tell Lance first. They were going to talk that night, and Keith could tell him then. This baby was Lance’s too, after all.

He smiled again. This baby was going to have a good life, and he was going to make sure of it. He was going to read to them, teach them, make sure they had some manners, take them outside to play, let them scrape their knees and make mistakes. He was going to be strict, but fair. He was going to try to do things the right way, and not the easy way.

Of course, what he could do for now was make sure that they got the proper nutrients from him. With that in mind, Keith grabbed his phone and started off on a long internet search of healthy foods for pregnant men and women. He already the name of recommended prenatal vitamins, but he would pick those up after he told Lance, because once he did, people would _know_.

Honestly, Keith could wait for everyone to know.

…

Keith knew that the boat Lance was on was actually a big one, set up for them to be able to stay out at sea for several days at a time before they had to restock on things. It gave him some peace of mind, especially since he originally envisioned his husband on a little draft happily petting the sharks that swam by.

Just from looking at Lance, Keith could tell that he was _thriving_ out there. His already warm brown skin was darker from days out on the water, and his blue eyes shone brighter with a brilliant excitement. Just the sight of him alone made Keith’s heart tightened. God, Lance was so beautiful that it wasn’t fair.

He loved to listen to him talk about his day, about all the things that interested him. Keith didn’t particularly find everything interesting, and didn’t understand a lot of it, but he still listened carefully, because Lance loved the ocean, and he loved Lance, and listening to him was important.

How had Keith gotten so lucky to have such a good man as his husband? As a mate? As an alpha? As the father of the child growing within him?

Lance stopped talking at one point and just _stared_ at him. Keith tilted his head slightly, not sure why he stopped talking. “You okay?”

The alpha started a bit at the question, but then sighed wistfully. “Just thinking about how amazing you are.”

Amusement rushed through Keith at that, and he snorted. That was smooth. Very smooth.

Lance pouted slightly at him. “What? You’re all smiley today, and I love you! I can’t wait to come home! I mean, I’m having fun but I miss you.” Keith couldn’t help but flush a bit at the words and the way Lance looked at him, like he hung the moon in the sky or something. “Oh! Have you looked into those links I sent you for Disney?”

Keith paused at that, not quite sure how to answer. He knew for a fact that going on rides and stuff when he was pregnant was an absolute no-go. The messages were something that registerted in Keith’s brain briefly, but he didn’t really think about them because he _knew_ he wasn’t going to go. It kind of made him forget just how excited Lance was to go. “Oh, um, I don’t actually think we’ll be able to do that.”

Instantly, the alpha’s face fell, excitement replaced with worry. “What? Why?”

Keith could already _see_ him speculating, and quickly clarified, “We, we _can_ go. I just can’t go on any of the rides.” Now was as good a time as any to share the good news. Lance had to be going through the worst-case scenarios right now about anything that could be wrong.

He reached down to the bag that he had sitting at his feet, waiting for this moment. Keith’s stomach squirmed with excited nerves as he pushed up the soft plush bear, resisting the urge to nuzzle it and scent it like most mothers did for their children so that there was always something with their scents nearby. He held up the white bear so that Lance could see the words on the shirt. “I bought this today. What do you think?”

He was absolutely giddy as he watched Lance’s brow furrow in confusion. The alpha’s blue eyes scanned the soft plush bear, and time seemed to stop for a moment. Then his eyebrows shot up and his eyes bugged out. “Oh my god. Are you—is that—oh my god!” His eyes were so wide they looked like they were going to bug out of his head. “You’re _pregnant_?” Lance’s voice rose up several octaves.

He felt so happy and excited that he was tempted to bounce on the spot. Dr. Tsai’s email should be getting to you soon, but I wanted to tell you myself.” He tried to fix him with a particularly unimpressed look. “You know, we agreed to try in a few months. You didn’t have to _immediately_ get me pregnant.” Saying the words to someone else made the whole thing so much more real and he really couldn’t stop his smile from reappearing.

Keith could practically see Lance’s mind starting and stalling, barely able to comprehend what was going on. He got that feeling.

“I’m going to e a dad,” Lance muttered in pure awe, the words making him squirm with excitement. A huge grin spread across Lance’s face, and he suddenly bolted from the seat and to the door. Keith couldn’t see him, but he could hear him yell, “I’m going to be a dad!” He also hear the cheers, though Lance didn’t pay that any mind. He ran back to the computer and gripped it tightly as if that could make him closer to Keith. “How do you feel? Are you okay? Are you feeling sick? Who else knows?”

Keith laughed. “Calm down. Deep breaths.”

“Right, deep breaths. I can do that. I—holy shit.” Lance’s eyes started watering.

“I feel okay. A bit tired, but no nausea or anything yet,” Keith said, deciding to answer his questions while he caught his breath. “The only other person that knows is Dr. Tsai. And his secretary. But I didn’t tell anyone. Wanted you to be the first.”

The alpha laughed in response and tears actually fell down his cheeks. “God, I want to come home. Like, right now.”

“Don’t you _dare_,” Keith scolded him. “You, Lance McClain, are going to study your sharks and wild life. You’re going to use that info in your thesis. You’re going to blow everyone away and graduate. Then you’re going to get an awesome job because I can’t, because kids are expensive and I’m not driving them around in that beast of a car. I’m _not_. The apartment we can deal with, the car…we at least have to get a slightly newer used one.” Also, he was _never_ going to hold the cost of raising a child over the heads of his children. Yes, it was expensive, but this was _his_ choice. Only a total douchecanoe did that.

Lance laughed again, the sound bubbly and bright. “Alright, alright. I’ll stay. And we’ll get that car. My tio mentioned that he was thinking of selling his, and it’s pretty knew.” His face flushed. “Honestly, he kept bringing it up around me, so I think that he’s trying to tell me something. He’s really into cars, you know.”

Keith snorted, knowing exactly what uncle he was talking about.

“But,” Lance’s smile fell, “I’m going to miss two whole months.”

“The majority of betas don’t even realize they’re pregnant until they’re in the second month. Some even later,” Keith pointed out. “It’s fine. You won’t miss anything. The first visit to the doctor’s isn’t even until eight weeks, and we booked it for when you’d be home.” The day after Lance got home, so there really shouldn’t be any delays. “Seriously, I won’t look any different.” He bit his lip briefly. “And, you know, I kind of wait to wait to tell anyone about this until you get home. Maybe wait until after three months?” The first trimester was always the one where a miscarriage was more likely to happen. They _could _happen at other points, and other things could go wrong, but the first trimester was the trickiest. Though miscarriages weren’t as common in omegas as they were betas, they could still happen, and Keith was still a tad worried about being exposed to so many different new chemicals over the past year. Just because he got pregnant didn’t mean that he would _stay_ pregnant.

“Okay, okay we can do that. Tell everyone together.” Lance’s lips turned up into such a fond smile that it made Keith’s heart race again. “I love you. I love you so much.”

Keith melted a little bit inside. “I love you too.”

“We’re having a baby, Keith. You’re growing one inside of you right now,” Lance added in pure awe. “That’s _amazing_.”

A giddy smile appeared on his face, because yeah, he was currently growing a brand new human being inside of him. One that was a bit of him and a bit of Lance, unique to the world. One that would grow inside of him for months before coming into the world. It was daunting and terrifying, but so, so exciting too.

He couldn’t wait.


	2. ...In The First Few Weeks

Life was peaceful for Keith in the first couple weeks following his discovery that he was pregnant. Really peaceful. He was inspired to make all kinds of art, and flew through the commissions he worked on. Hell, he even got some more merch done for the youtube channel!

He felt lively and energetic, getting back to the gym, avoiding the weights and intense machines, but still doing workouts to stay healthy and active. He made sure to take his prenatal vitamins and eat as healthily as possible (cravings weren’t a thing yet, thankfully). He and Pidge didn’t go out on any more of their little expeditions, neither one of them were ready for that yet, nor would he be doing anything crazy in the future, but he did go over to shoot videos talking conspiracy and things like that.

No one picked up on anything different about him, and for now, Keith was content with that. He was itching to tell everyone the good news, but he was going to wait for Lance and to hit that three month mark. Yes, he was going to be doing all the hard work, but he wanted his mate to be a part of this in any way that he could.

Lance asked how he was feeling every day (more than once a day, actually), and Keith knew a part of the alpha felt guilty that he wasn’t there. So it was important to keep him involved in other ways. Lance definitely wasn’t going to be one of those dads that were only involved to scold their children and run the household. Yeah, he was the breadwinner between the two of them, but they considered themselves equal partners in their relationship.

Honestly, Keith didn’t have much to report back to his mate. The biggest thing he noticed was that, when he wasn’t feeling energetic and just great about life in general, he was dead tired (it was either one or the other and there were no in-betweens). It wasn’t bad, he was just more prone to naps.

That was until he had to practically throw himself away from his drawing tablet and to the bathroom, where he lost the lunch that he ate earlier. The nausea came out of absolutely nowhere, and he had no way to prepare for it. Keith gagged, the acidic taste causing his eyes to water. He seemed to be there forever, hunched over their thankfully clean toilet as if praying to it.

Keith breathed heavily and slumped onto the floor beside the toilet, not willing to go back to his bedroom at the moment with nausea still rolling in his stomach. He waited a little bit, enjoying the feel of the cool floor against his warm skin. Once he was sure nothing else was going to come up, even if he felt a bit sick still, he got up.

He saved his files and decided to have a nap.

…

As it turned out, Keith’s nausea had a _schedule_. If he was going to be sick, at least he could have an idea about when it was about to happen. There was a reason it was called morning sickness, as it was more prone to show up in the morning. The problem with that was that his sickness wasn’t _limited_ to the morning. Oh, he woke up at about 5:20 every morning to throw himself at the toilet, but that wasn’t the _only_ time he did it. It always ended up happening at about 3:10 every afternoon.

If everyone else _knew_ the good news, Keith wouldn’t be too worried about it. For now though, it meant that he had to schedule his time around when he was going to be sick for now, and that was ridiculous.

It made him miss Lance a lot, to the point where it was nearly a tangible feeling. God, Keith missed his husband. He wished his alpha was there with him, to hold him and keep his hair out of his face. To rub his back and whisper that it was okay.

“I miss you,” he said to Lance when they got to talk face to face again. They texted and called every night, but skype sessions couldn’t always happen. Other people had families too.

Worry instantly overtook his face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” He nodded his head. “I just wish you were here is all.” Keith blinked his eyes rapidly. “Morning sickness finally showed up. Twice a day every day.” Not including the times in between when he felt a tad sick, but nothing came from it.

It wasn’t the first time he encountered morning sickness, and honestly, it wasn’t even the worst of it. Then again, he’d been traumatized, distressed, didn’t eat or drink or take care of himself properly, or anything like that the first time he experienced it. This was an entirely different scenario. He was already healthy, he was happy, and the world might suck but his life was pretty good.

“Try soda crackers,” Lance suggested, his brow furrowed slightly. “I’ve been doing a bit of research and apparently going bland is a bit better. Less spices and fats. Might help your nausea some.”

Keith’s lips ticked up into a smile. How like Lance, to be on a dream research trip and still try to help by researching pregnancy. It was sweet. “I’ll give it a shot.” He shifted and grimaced a little bit, instantly grabbing Lance’s attention. Before he could ask, Keith admitted, “My chest is a bit sensitive.” Depending on their physique, genetics, and exercise routines, male omegas didn’t always have breasts in the same way female omegas did (or female betas and alphas, for that matter). They looked like male alphas and betas, albeit their hips were a tad broader due to their bone structure.

(Though Keith supposed that any one woman could be different from the next for that matter. Allura and Pidge were both female omegas and looked extremely different from one another.)

That aside, when pregnant, a male omega’s chest swelled a bit and became more sensitive too, it was one of the most common early signs of pregnancy in any omega or beta, and that was what Keith was dealing with. The wrong fabrics and fits really bothered him.

“You’re really pregnant,” Lance said, his voice soft and in awe. “I mean, I know you are, but you really are, aren’t you?”

“You’re going to cry more than me,” Keith realized. He could already picture it. Lance would probably get weepy over every little thing.

“Probably,” the alpha admitted without hesitation. “I’m going to get back home and start with all of the sympathy symptoms.”

That actually made Keith laugh. “God, I hope not. You’d be insufferable.” Well, if Lance wanted to take the _extra_ weight gain on top of the regular, healthy weight for pregnancy, that would be fine. He’d love him no matter what. Yes, he knew Lance would feel the same way about him, but _still_.

“I’m going to sob that first day we realize that you’ve got a baby bump we can see,” Lance spoke up wistfully. “And when they kick. And I’m going to cry more than you when they’re born.”

“I…doubt that.” He wouldn’t be the one pushing it out. If Lance cried more than he did, he was going to launch him to the fucking moon.

(“I’d be over the moon anyway,” Keith’s internal Lance spoke up, making him irrationally annoyed with the real Lance on the phone, even if he hadn’t said it.)

“You know, if you’re bored in your spare time and thinking of names…Lance Junior is fun.” Keith knew that he made some kind of deeply unimpressed face, because his mate cackled loudly. “Seriously, any thoughts on names?”

“Not yet. Might be stupid, but I kind of want to wait until after three months to think about it?” It might be a little superstitious to wait until after the three-month landmark for so much, because Keith was healthy and he’d been assured his past miscarriage wouldn’t impact this one, but you really never knew. And some people might have names planned out before they even conceived, but not Keith. He had some he liked more than others, but he wanted to wait. He also wanted for Lance to have some impute too (though he’d argue that he got final say). Something occurred to Keith. “I want them to have an original name. Like, it doesn’t have to be weird, but I don’t want to name them after someone in our families. Not on purpose.”

“I admit, all my ideas were after my family,” Lance confessed, which didn’t at all surprise Keith since he was so family oriented. “But I’m cool with finding something original and meaningful. It’ll be fun!”

God, Lance was going to be _such_ a good father. He wouldn’t be one of those ones that were just kind of there in the house, not helping with parenting until it was time for discipline. Just thinking about it for the 100th time made Keith preen. He loved his husband.

…

The night before Lance left, Keith made a massive, comfortable nest and buried things within it that had his mate’s scent all over them. It was a way to comfort himself in those moments where a heavy loneliness settled into his bones. The day he found out that he was pregnant, he rearranged and rebuilt the entire thing.

That was one of those things that Keith always thought were exaggerated, that a mated pair, especially an alpha-omega pair, could be physically impacted by distance. Ruts and heats were awful because for alphas they’d get almost desperate to find their mate to the point where they could become violent or severely depressed. Omegas would reject comfort from any familial alphas or other friend, likely succumbing to fear and anxiety. It was difficult. Keith had only known Lance for a few days when his first heat hit him, and he still wanted him close by to the point of discomfort.

It wasn’t just during heats and ruts though. Keith was realizing on a personal level that he truly craved Lance’s touch and scent. It was the one thing that could calm him or make him feel safe beyond anything else. He heard before that some omegas felt listless without their mates, and that extended difference could make it worse. That an omega could become physically sick.

Keith didn’t think that it was going to go that far for him, but how much he missed Lance was definitely impacting him a bit. So maybe it was a good thing that they ended up conceiving when they did, because he wouldn’t let himself slip into that deep, instinctual longing for his mate that devolved into depression.

That said, he was a bit possessive over his nest. He _needed_ Lance’s scents around him, or he found it hard to sleep. Which was a bit ironic, because he was absolutely exhausted on a regular basis. This was another symptom he experienced before, but it sucked just as much as the vomiting did. Sometimes he felt like he could barely get through a few hours before he started nodding off, but was never quite able to fall sleep unless he was curled up in his nest.

Scents could fade over time, so he was a bit possessive over his nest. He didn’t want anyone else near it. That meant he didn’t let anyone into his room.

So of course, when the landlord had to come in to fix some damage in there with a worker, Keith was incredibly unhappy. There was a deep, unhappy rumble in his chest as the worker, an alpha, moved around to check the window and seal it properly (as if the small little updates could save the building).

“I thought I was going to attack him,” Keith admitted to Lance in a call later on, buried in the nest, his hand resting on his stomach, fingers gently stroking the skin. “I actually pictured pushing him out the window.”

Lance cackled on the phone loudly, not even willing to offer any encouraging words. Naturally, Keith held that over his head the next time his husband moaned about missing him.

…

Lance’s parents _insisted_ on having Keith over for dinner at least once a week. He got the impression that it was for multiple reasons. So Keith wasn’t alone, to guarantee he actually ate a proper meal, to put their own minds to rest that something wasn’t happening to him, and to give Lance a little peace of mind about all of the above too.

Lance’s Papá was a short, sprout woman, and seemed to take on more of the typical ‘omega’ roles than her husband did. Technically speaking, in their family, she was the ‘head’, since she was the eldest alpha alive. Since Lance was gone, Keith was technically considered to be ‘under her care’, because being an adult wasn’t a good enough reason to show that Keith could take care of himself. No. He was an omega, therefore he needed alpha supervision. There was also a sense of _obligation_ to make sure that he was okay.

It made Keith glad that they didn’t know he was currently carrying their next grandchild in him. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Lance’s parents, despite having a very bad start with his Mamá (the man was still a little weird around Keith at times, but he was like that to Lisa and Bella too, the other in-laws, so he didn’t question it). No, he liked them well enough. He just knew that there’d be a little too much coddling for his comfort. Not only that, but if they knew, everyone would know.

Keith figured that they’d _probably_ pick up on it through his scent. He knew that any pregnancy person got a very specific kind of scent and others just _knew_. Given how many pregnancies Lance’s parents had been through or around, they’d probably pick up on it in an instant. So Keith slapped a scent blocking strip over his scent gland before he went over. They’d know he was hiding something, but he was counting on them thinking it was about Lance.

He was right. Lance’s Mamá looked a tad concerned, and his Papá practically coddled him. The oddest reaction had been his Abuela. The old woman looked at Keith critically, like she was seeing something that no one else could.

Though Keith normally loved the food, his stomach twisted sickeningly at the scent of it alone. He breathed through his mouth instead, and forced himself not to gag as he ate. It must have been the spices, because he ate chicken fried rice yesterday and he loved it, but this chicken was making him want to hurl.

“You should stay over if you don’t feel well,” Lance’s Papá urged him.

Keith shook his head. “No, I think I’m just…jittery.”

“Best for him to be in his own home,” Abuela spoke up. “Separation from an alpha is quite difficult. To be in their shared home with Lance’s scent is for the best.” The way that she looked at Keith made his stomach twist a little. There was this deep, knowing look in her eyes. Somehow, he knew that she knew his secret. He had no idea how, but she did.

They still packed Keith a healthy helping of food, and he felt awful about it. The second he opened the container at home, he wasn’t able to stop himself from throwing up.

Yeah, Lance suggested going bland might be the best way to avoid being sick, and he was really thinking that he was right on that.

Now sweet things, that might be something else altogether.

…

Keith liked spending time with Pidge and Hunk. He really did. The problem was that he also really liked sleeping lately. So when they came over for movie night, which continued even in Lance’s absence, Keith was ready to nod off almost right away.

Luckily, Hunk’s food didn’t make him feel sick. It was flavourful but not intense, and though it didn’t make Keith perk up excitedly like it normally would, but it at least didn’t make him want to throw up like everything that Lance’s family made. The baby, apparently, really hated spicy food.

Half way through the first movie, Keith felt himself nodding off, and ended up slumping down onto Hunk. He wasn’t Lance, he didn’t bring about the same comfort his mate did, but Hunk was still an alpha that was a part of this little makeshift pack they had going on, so it did put him at ease for a little bit. Pidge’s scent did too. Nothing would happen to him and the baby as long as they were there. It was so much better than being alone.

“I’m worried about him. With how long Lance has been gone and stuff,” Hunk rumbled after a little while. Keith was still awake, but he didn’t think they knew that.

“He’s fine,” Pidge insisted. “Keith is tough as nails and an omega doesn’t need an alpha. I’m fine.”

“You’re not mated,” Hunk pointed out to her. “It’s different. There’s a reason Keith came back with Lance when we left Vegas instead of waiting a little bit. Separation does things. It’s not a control thing or anything like that, it’s just a biological thing.”

Pidge was scowling, and Keith probably would have a while ago, but he actually found himself agreeing. Maybe if he wasn’t pregnant, he wouldn’t feel quite the same intense longing. He also wouldn’t have symptoms that others were picking up on.

It was okay though. Lance would be home sooner rather than later. For now, he’d just keep doing what he was doing and take every symptom and every change in stride. It was really all he could do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I randomly got a bit of inspiration for this. I think I'd like to do a few little drabbles, I have some ideas in bits and pieces that I have yet to make sense of. I hope I can formulate them into actual ideas, but again, these are just oneshots. There is no promise of another one. This topic is a fun one. Just a little look at Keith as his body gets used to the fact that he's carrying another life in him because people who do that irl are amazing!


	3. ...During A Reunion

Lance was almost shaking with excitement. A few of the others who were on the expedition with him chuckled behind him. They were all older than him, all a little wiser, and every single one of them was an alpha, so perhaps they understood what it was like to miss their mates (well, two of them had mates so _they_ might get it).

If asked, he would deny that he maybe walked a little faster than normal to get into the airport terminal itself, knowing that Keith was waiting for him at the arrival door. They would grab his suitcase after that. His husband was more important.

He _instantly_ caught Keith’s smell, probably because he was looking for it, but also because it was the best thing ever. He zeroed in on him immediately, and in that moment, Lance would have sworn that his heart stopped and time slowed down.

From an outside perspective, Keith probably looked the exact same as before, perhaps a little tired, but from Lance’s perspective (the superior one, honestly), he was the single most beautiful thing around, with his soft black hair (that he swore was longer than when he left) that flipped at the ends, and deep indigo eyes that reminded him of swirling galaxies.

Okay, maybe Lance was a little bit smitten and missed his mate a lot. Next time he would have to bring Keith with him somehow. Well, no, that wouldn’t work, because it wouldn’t be just Keith, would it?

His eyes flitted down to his stomach, which didn’t look any different at all. Keith didn’t _look_ pregnant at all, and why would he? He was only eight weeks along, and sometimes betas wouldn’t even know they were expecting at that point. Omegas were lucky in that regard.

Time suddenly caught up with him as he realized that his husband, his _mate_ was right there in front of him after two long months. Two months where Lance absolutely enjoyed what he was doing, but still missed his husband desperately. A small whine escaped his lips as he practically threw himself at Keith. It was a good thing the omega was so strong and able to keep them from toppling over, like he’d been predicting the action.

Lance nuzzled his face into Keith’s neck, one hand going around his waist to hold him close and the other going into his hair and gripping, but not enough to hurt him.

“Ew don’t touch my hair, it’s greasy and gross, I haven’t had a shower in days,” Keith said, and

Lance immediately started laughing.

His shoulders shook joyously as he giggled. “Two months apart and that’s the first thing you say to me.”

“I’ve talked to you every day.” Keith shifted enough so that he could look at him, but didn’t seem inclined to move away from him.

“Not the same.” Lance was actually almost _glad_ that Keith didn’t take a shower that day, because it let him smell even more Keithy and less soapy. Maybe it was distance talking, but Lance was pretty sure that his mate smelled different from before. It wasn’t enough where someone who wasn’t constantly in tune with his mate’s scent would notice, probably not even Hunk or Pidge would, but Lance did. It made him shiver and an almost primal wave of pride and satisfaction rushed through him. It felt like he accomplished something really important on a deep, almost animalistic level.

Oh wow, he was reacting to him this way because he was pregnant, wasn’t he? Lance heard that this could happen. Others who knew what pregnancy smelled like might pick up on it, but this was a first for Lance in this specific way. If he didn’t already know his mate was in the very, very early stages of pregnancy, Lance wouldn’t know what these instincts and feelings were. But he already knew, so now he _knew_.

“I missed you,” Lance muttered as he stroked his fingers gentle across the scar on his cheek.

Keith’s expression softened, and his hands slid over Lance’s shoulders, tangling into his hair as he pulled him down the slight distance between he two of them and into a deep kiss.

Lance hummed as he wrapped his arms around Keith’s (for now) thing waist and pulled him close.

He had a ton of fun and learned a lot on his trip, but he was glad to be home.

…  
  
Keith purred the whole way home, which was really, really nice, because the sound combined with his perfectly content smell calmed Lance down. The omega was the one that drove, since Lance could already feel the jetlag kicking in, and he might not have even let Keith in the car if he had his way. The second that he saw the old girl, the car that got him and so many other family members to and from places, he started to grumble. How could he even pretend that this was safe for his family?

“We need to get home somehow,” Keith pointed out when Lance voiced his displeasure, and that was that. They packed up the car and went on their way. The alpha distracted himself by staring at his mate, who didn’t seem bothered by it. Keith looked a bit tired, but there was a healthy flush to his skin, and a sureness in the way he held himself. He didn’t at all seem insecure or worried. Lance could still remember that first morning he woke up with Keith over a year ago in Vegas, how on guard he had been. He could still picture how unsure he looked whenever kids came up, how he wanted them but he wasn’t ready for them.

Lance’s eyes fell to his stomach. It didn’t seem real that there was a _baby_ growing in there. _His_ baby. Nothing about Keith looked that different to the average eye. That contentedness though, that was what really got Lance.

Their baby would never question whether they were wanted or loved. Perhaps they were a bit sooner than expected (fashionably late didn’t seem like it was going to be a thing), but that was okay.

His good mood vanished when they drove into the parking lot of their apartment building, and stared at the structure as if it insulted him. He looked around as he got out of the car. This was _no_ environment for a baby. Yes, many people lived in places like this because they couldn’t afford anything else (it was literally why they were there), but it wasn’t what he wanted for a baby. It was dirty. It felt so unsafe. It was one thing for just Lance, or Keith and Lance. It was another for a baby. Where would they roam, play, and explore?

Actually, now that Lance thought about it, they didn’t have an elevator. How would a heavily pregnant Keith scale the stairs? There were so many opportunities to fall!

Lance broke out of his thoughts when he heard the trunk open, and turned to see Keith reaching for one of his suitcases. Nope, that wouldn’t do at all. He hurried to his side and took it from him. At Keith’s raised eyebrow, he said, “You’re not supposed to lift heavy things. You’re already carrying precious cargo.” The most precious cargo.

Honestly, Lance expected a fight. Instead, a smile spread across Keith’s lips and he let go of the suitcase, his hand falling to his stomach. “Yeah, I guess I am.” There was a happiness and lightness to him that put Lance at ease too.

Of course, Keith still insisted on carrying the light bags up the stairs.

“I got you presents,” Lance said to him as they approached the door. “Though it’s nowhere near as good as the one you gave me.” He eyed the stairs, remembering how he tended to trip up and down these fairly often. Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t _that_ clumsy in other places. What if it was the stairs themselves? What if Keith _fell?_

It was such a relief to actually get inside their own apartment again. It was so much better than being out in the dirty building where many different scents lingered, most that never bothered Lance in the past but were now making him a bit antsy. He didn’t quite know what to make of that. Then again, he’d never had a pregnant mate before either.

Being in their apartment though, that was safe. That was nice. It was bright and clean, and the scents of Hunk, Pidge, Matt, as well as his siblings and even his parents lingered. Lane felt himself relaxing slightly at that.

He yawned loudly, and Keith chuckled as he set the light bags down. “Wanna go have a shower while I make some food? Then we can go have a nap?”

That sounded wonderful, but Lance still had to pout. “What if I want you in there with me?” It had been two months, no one could blame him for being interested in his mate sans clothing.

Keith hummed thoughtfully at that as he looked at Lance with a sly grin. His fingers ran across Lance’s collarbone. “Hmm, I don’t know about that.”

“I’ll beg if you want me to. Give you a massage. A full body rub down,” Lance bartered. Did he sound a bit desperate? Yes, he did. Did he care? No, he didn’t. He wasn’t even asking to have sex or anything, because they learned the hard way that shower sex was actually a very bad idea (Keith didn’t mean to slip and drag Lance down with him, which was absolutely the end of that activity that day as they both nursed their bruises), and that was before Keith was carrying precious cargo.

It wasn’t that the omega looked fragile or anything, no, he still looked like he could toss Lance over his shoulder like a sack of flour. Not that he would, pregnant people weren’t supposed to lift heavy things, and Lance did, in fact, count as a heavy thing.

“I _could_ use a shower too,” Keith agreed leisurely, almost teasingly, which wasn’t at all fair because holy smokes he was hot. Lance missed him. “But it sounds like _you_ just want to get me naked.”

“I mean, total bonus,” Lance said with a nod. “But really, it’s the hair. You haven’t been using condition the right way and I need to fix it immediately. And then we can cook supper together. Then we nap together.” He paused and smiled at him sheepishly. “Maybe I just wanna be a little possessive for a bit. You don’t smell enough like me.”

Keith laughed loudly at that, nosing his scent gland. “Alright. Shower first then sandwiches.” He paused and looked up at Lance seriously. “I really want a sandwich.”

It was Lance’s turn to laugh. God, he really missed Keith.

…

To be clear, Lance was not at all a saint and did enjoy sex. A lot. A lot, a lot. But he also really adored the sheer intimacy of being completely bare.

It reminded him that, though omegas were often portrayed as soft, Keith was really nothing like that in a physical sense. Though his muscles weren’t quite as defined as when they first met (slacking at the gym over the past few months would do that), he still had broad shoulders, nice arms, and don’t get Lance started on those thighs. He looked the farthest thing from pregnant. In many ways, he kind of reminded Lance more of the typical alpha. That was fine though. They didn’t have to fit into any specific molds. They could just be themselves.

“You’re hair’s longer,” Lance noted as he playfully twisted it up with soap, amused that it almost stuck like a spike or a horn.

“So’s yours,” Keith replied, fingers dancing along the back of his neck, purposefully brushing against his scent gland. “You’re going to end up with a mullet.”

“I am not!”

“Hmm, and you’ll have a true mullet too, because your bangs are still so short,” his husband continued to tease as he pushed it out of Lance’s face. He laughed at the distressed whine the alpha let out. Of course, he had to add salt to the wound by leaning forward and whispering, “What if the baby’s born with a mullet?”

The dramatic screeches and loud, deep laughter were enough to let anyone in the building know that Lance was home.

…

Lance nuzzled his face into the soft, soft fabric of their nest. God, he missed this so much when he was away. He shivered a bit as Keith pressed gentle kisses to the back of his neck before Lance rolled over to stare at him. It didn’t feel real that he was home.

He reached up cupped Keith’s cheek, causing the omega to close his eyes and lean into his hand. His thumb gently brushed against the smooth skin as he asked, “You’ll be here when I wake up, right?” He almost felt like this was a super nice dream, and he’d probably cry if he woke up without his mate beside him.

“I’ll be here,” Keith muttered as he rested his head on Lance’s chest, over his heart. He slipped his hand across Lance’s stomach to hold him close.

The alpha smiled warmly down at him, nuzzling his face into his hair as he wrapped his arm around him and closed his eyes. A happy sigh escaped his lips. Lance was so happy to be home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're back together!
> 
> Have you check out my instagram or tumblr lately? I posted pictures of the pins I made and I'm ridiculously proud of them. It makes me tear up a bit when I look at them! 
> 
> Also if you like fairy tales, we're doing a bunch of posts to spotlight different fairy tales on klancefairytalezines tumblr! Some of these are ones you know, some of them I've never heard of until I reached them. Some of them are ones our contributors are doing (including me, I'm writing for it too!), some are just super interesting and I wanted to share them!


	4. ...In An Appointment

Lance’s first morning back home wasn’t quite as happy as he thought it would be. Keith woke up a little later than he normally did, according to him, but he also ended up curled over the toilet for _hours_.

He glared at Lance, as if it was his fault. “It was scheduled before.”

“That’s not how that works.”

“It was for me. Five am and three pm.” Keith leaned back over to gag again, and Lance gently tied his hair and bangs up out of his face before rubbing his back.

Now, Lance wasn’t one to argue, but he knew from research that there were a lot of misconceptions out there. Sickness could appear at any time of day, and it was different for everyone. That said, if it was different for everyone, who was he to say that Keith was wrong about what he experienced? Of course, maybe he just held himself together until specific times somehow. That sounded like a really Keith thing to do. Who knew? Hell, Lance had a cousin that didn’t experience any kind of sickness at all for one of his pups, which didn’t seem entirely fair.

Maybe the shift had to do with the fact that Lance was home. The way alphas and omegas specifically could impact one another still wasn’t completely understood, because the people in charge didn’t necessarily want it to be understood. The reintroduction of his pheromones to Keith might have caused this shift.

Eventually, Lance coaxed him away from the bathroom and to the couch, where he bundled his husband up in blankets and puttered around their tiny kitchen to retrieve some crackers and something to drink. He blinked at the little box he found and looked at Keith. “Red raspberry and peppermint?”

“Yeah, doctor suggested it,” Keith replied tiredly. “Supposed to help with sickness and be really good with all kinds of things.”

That sounded good to him. He got some crackers onto a plate and made Keith some tea, deciding to try it himself. It didn’t taste that great, but Keith had already nestled into him, and Lance wasn’t getting up.

He pressed his lips to the top of Keith’s head. “Wanna head back to bed in a bit?” They didn’t have anywhere to be that day, though he knew that his parents would want them to visit soon. Keith was way more important than that though.

The omega nodded his head as he gingerly munched on the crackers, trying to get a bit down so that there was some kind of nutrients in his body.

Lance couldn’t help but admire him. He was going to be such a good mother.

…

The omega sitting across from Keith made him very uncomfortable. They were in an office where a few different OBGYN doctors had their offices and practices, so there were a few people there waiting for their appointments, all at different stages of pregnancy. Keith was easily the earliest in his, since he was the only one with a stomach still flat. There was a beta woman in the room who was probably four or five months, and she and her partner seemed happy enough. A few moments ago, an omega woman and her beta husband left for their appointment, looking ready to pop.

The omega man across from him though made Keith want to squirm. It wasn’t just him though. It was him in combination with the alpha at his side. The woman had a firm grip on his thigh, her scent possessive and ready to turn hostile at a moment’s notice. The omega looked tired, distressed, and depressed. Keith got the very, _very_ distinct impression that the pregnancy was not a good thing for the omega. Not something they wanted or probably consented to.

He shifted closer to Lance and tilted his head up to nose under his neck to take in his scent. He could tell his mate was wary of the exact same thing he was (because he’d been excited until they entered the waiting room). Lance’s hand slid around his shoulders and then trailed up and down his arm soothingly.

If Keith was honest, it probably made him uncomfortable on a personal level because that was the kind of life he always assumed he would end up getting. He always thought that he’d end up with the bite of someone he didn’t like on his neck, forced to endure as many unwanted pregnancies as the alpha deemed appropriate. He also was never under the illusions that he would end up with a beta. Omegas were rarer than they used to be, considered a ‘commodity’ to some. Probably that alpha across from them.

“Keith McClain?”

He practically bounced out of the chair, Lance scrambling behind him. They were both eager to get away from that couple (who would hopefully be gone when they got out), but more importantly, they were both eager to see their baby.

…

  
Of course, first appointments weren’t just squirting jelly onto a stomach and seeing a baby. No, first visits had more discussions than anything else. Lots of poking and prodding too. Their doctor was getting a feel for them and vice versa.

Doctor Reinhart was a stern-looking woman at first glance, but she was surprisingly easy going. Very eager to get to know them, and not at all judgemental about Keith’s medical history. She already had access to comprehensive lists of both their medical pasts, but it did surprise Keith a bit that she was also interested in mental history too. It was apparently a very good thing that they both actively went to counseling and tried to be healthy in that sense too. It was also really good that they both _wanted_ this baby, and were so clearly in love with the idea already.

Along with all of that discussion, Keith underwent a ton of tests. He was poked and prodded and so much more. They had to know everything from his blood pressure, to his weight, to the size of his uterus, shape of his pelvis, and so much more. (The pelvis was very important, since male omegas tended to have more narrow hips than their female counterparts.) Of course, it all made sense. Urine tests, bloodwork, a pap smear, and so much more.

He felt absolutely exhausted by the entire process, though at the same time, there was an undercurrent of excitement, because he was having a baby. He wanted that baby to be as healthy as possible, so yeah he’d happily let the doctor and the techs take blood and poke at his privates to make sure that everything was in order for said baby to be healthy.

When he expressed as much to the doctor, she laughed at him.

“That’s _good_,” she assured him. “It’s very obvious that you want this baby.”

“Little sooner than expected,” Lance admitted. He seemed a little uneasy with all the tests, but that was likely just those primal alpha instincts sneaking through, unhappy with any discomfort in his partner. “But very much wanted.”

Keith preened a little bit under Lance’s gaze. Their baby _was_ wanted by both of them.

Finally though, they got to the part of the appointment that Keith was looking forward to most. That moment where he was allowed to take the hospital gown off and put his own pants back on (thank god), but he had to keep them lower, because the ultrasound tech was there to squirt the cold gel onto his abdomen.

His breath hitched at the grainy picture that appeared in front of them. The tech smiled warmly as she moved the wand over his stomach. Keith held Lance’s hand tightly. “There’s our baby.”

“Oh my god,” Lance breathed out. “It’s a _jellybean_.”

The tech laughed, but Keith couldn’t find it in him to laugh along with her. His eyes stayed focused on the screen in pure awe. That was his _baby_. Sure, they didn’t entirely look human yet, but the beginnings of it was there. That was a live feed inside of him right now.

Oh jesus, now he was _crying_. He didn’t cry. He said that he wasn’t going to. Lance’s hand landed on his shoulder, and a quick look up at him showed him that Lance was in tears too.

“We might not be able to detect a heartbeat yet,” Dr. Reinhart warned as she came to look everything over. “We can usually detect it, but if we can’t, don’t panic. We’ll schedule a visit in a week or two, alright?”

Keith nodded, feeling a little bit numb. A few buttons were pressed, and at first there was no sound at all, and he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Dr. Reinhart frowned and muttered something to the tech, who helped move a few things around, and then suddenly there it was. A rhythmic, stead sound coming from the speaks.

“Is that…?” Lance trailed off, his eyes wide.

She nodded at them. “That is a steady, nice heartbeat for eight weeks.”

“Just one?” Keith asked, wanting to clarify that there was only one baby inside of him. “I’m a twin,” he clarified to the confused tech.

“Only one sac,” Dr. Reinhart noted. “So if there’s another one, they’re monoamniotic, and the second would be much smaller.” She narrowed her eyes at the scans. “No, I don’t believe there are two. Just one happy, healthy baby a little over eight weeks old.”

Keith relaxed at that. Though he was sure he could love twins, or more, he knew it would be a lot easier on them if there was only one the first time around.

They got pictures of the sonogram, and Keith held it close to his chest the entire way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's just a short little thing! Also there's one thing I wanted to remind everyone about this universe.
> 
> Mother = person that carries baby and gives birth regardless of gender, sex, or anything like that. Seen as more of an ‘omega’ term than anything else (as opposed to feminine), but applies to anyone who gives birth.
> 
> Father = person that impregnantes their partner, again, regardless of gender, sex, or anything. Seen as more of an ‘alpha’ term (not masculine), but applies to anyone who fathers a child. 
> 
> Is this me thinking this is the way things “have” to be, with a mother and a father? No. Absolutely not. Families come in so many shapes and sizes. A family can be you and your dog or cat. That's fine. Is this me trying to enforce stereotypes or rolls? No. Is this my writing this world trying to do that? Yes. 
> 
> But also, they’ve never lived in a world where mother was for “women” and father was for “men” so while it may seem odd to us, it’s nothing in-world. This is keeping with the continuity established within this world already.


	5. ...During A Reveal

Lance grimaced in sympathy as Keith threw up onto the toilet. He rubbed his hand up and down his back as his entire body shook. He once saw a pregnancy announcement where a wife was leaning over the edge of a toilet while the husband smiled, his thumbs up. How someone could even joke like that blew him away. He hated the fact that Keith was so sick because he was carrying their baby. If all he could do was be there for him in whatever capacity that might be. If that meant springing out of bed with him super early in the morning to comfort him, that was what he’d do.

Keith leaned back against the side of the tub, clearly exhausted and a bit pallid. Lance brushed his sweaty hair from his eyes, trying to smell as comforting as possible. It seemed to work as he focused on him and then snuggled into his side, nose turned up into his neck.

“You okay?” Lance muttered, fingers gently tracing his arm muscles (very nice arm muscles).

A groan escaped Keith’s lips as he looked at him tiredly. “This is supposed to only last about the first trimester, right?”

“It should,” Lance agreed. “Unless you’re very unlucky and it lasts throughout the whole thing.” Keith groaned again, and he felt a little bad about bringing it up, but knew his husband would rather have the honest truth. “It’s only one baby though, and you’ve been making like, every healthy decision ever, so I’m sure you’ll be okay.”

“Hope so,” Keith agreed. His hand brushed against his flat stomach. “It’ll be worth it though.”

Lance’s heart fluttered at that as he pressed his lips to the side of Keith’s head. His mate was so amazing and so strong.

…

“Look!”

Lance choked, accidentally deep-throating his toothbrush at Keith’s sudden appearance. He spluttered and looked up at him. “What the _fuck_?”

Keith ignored his temporary struggle, which, _rude_. Instead, he turned his attention down to his bare stomach, having gone shirtless (something Lance really appreciated, because his man was _hot_). He ran his hands over the plains of his lower abdomen. “It’s not flat.”

He blinked at that declaration and could stop himself from reaching out, not that Keith tried to stop him. He slid his hands around Keith’s slim hips, resting on the area in between them on top of Keith’s hand. When Lance first met him, Keith was able to flex and show off some very nice ab muscles. Over the past few months of less intense exercise, and now pregnancy, he didn’t have quite the same look to him, though at first glance, his abdomen was still flat and smooth.

When Lance looked carefully, and _really _looked, he could tell that there was just the slightest of swells there. No one else would notice that, but he was _very_ familiar with Keith’s body. On one hand he could even attribute it to slight bloating from food, but nothing Keith ate that day would have done that. There really was just a tiny swell right there. He could see it!

“Are you _crying_?” Keith demanded as he looked back at him in disbelief.

“I told you I would!” Lance couldn’t even deny the tears in his eyes. At least he wasn’t sobbing or anything. He gently pushed Keith’s hand away, placing his palm on his stomach instead. “Hi little baby. Hi.”

Keith chuckled and nuzzled up into his neck, hand resting on top of Lance’s.

…

It was the very miniscule change to Keith’s abdomen that really seemed to spur Lance into action. The first thing that desperately needed to change was their car situation. Sure, the apartment situation was bad too, but they _could_ clear out Keith’s office to change into a nursery. The car was different.

It was a good ol’ beast that helped out so many members of his family, but that nostalgia wasn’t worth it when weighed against the potential safety of his mate and child. It had to go.

His uncle didn’t even question when he asked about one of the used vehicles he had for sale. He didn’t even need to tell him _why_ he wanted to get rid of the old thing, the man was entirely _thrilled_ by the aspect. He gave him a great deal on a used, but much safer car, and even took the old beater off of his hands. They really couldn’t afford anything brand new, but since he took the opportunity to clean it inside and out, it _felt_ brand new.

When he got home, he thought to text Keith to get him to come outside, but then he had a mental image of his mate tumbling down the stairs and nearly had a panic attack. These alpha instincts were going wild and were paranoid about everything to the point where he was worried about being a bit possessive. Keith would _probably_ kick his ass if he did that. Well no, but he’d call him out on his nonsense _immediately_.

Still, he walked all the way up to their apartment to get his mate to show him the new car. In retrospect, he probably should have talked to him about it, but hindsight was 20/20, and he already knew Keith’s feelings on the car.

Lance was ready to sweep him off his feet when he came into the apartment, but instantly cooed instead. Keith was sprawled out on the couch, clutching a pillow to his chest, sound asleep. He seemed so relaxed and peaceful in his loose t-shirt that was far too long for him.

_“We should get giant shirts,” Lance once said to him. “Big ones that we can scent and then trade.”_

_“Why?” Keith asked. _

_“Because we’re too similar in size to get that super cute, wear my spouse’s shirt and it’s too big for me, look.”_

Keith thought he was ridiculous, but they ended up doing it anyway.

That was the shirt that Keith was wearing now. The giant blue one that would probably fit Hunk, that Lance thoroughly scented. It fell to his thighs, legs wonderfully bare of his normal jeans. His hair was a bird’s nest, he was drooling on the pillow, and snoring fairly loudly. 

Lance was about to coo again, when he focused on the pillow that Keith was drooling all over and made a distressed sound. “Is that _my_ pillow?”

The omega started awake, and gave him the dirtiest look imaginable (and not in a good way) when he realized what he said. “I was finally comfortable.”

He instantly felt bad about that. “Not feeling good?”

Keith groaned and buried his face into the pillow. “Tired, and sore, and sick.”

That prompted a frown from Lance, who pressed his hand to his forehead. He didn’t seem to have a fever though, so it was likely just a bad day for symptoms. “Sorry. I was just excited to show you something.”

“Hmm?”

“I traded our car in.”

Keith _immediately_ sat up, his eyes wide. “You traded it in? To _who_?” His tone of voice said it all. Who the hell would buy _that_?

“My uncle.” Lance shrugged. “He was all too happy to get me out of it. And this car’s used but a lot nicer.” He frowned a bit. “I just…you were right and it was going to be too dangerous, not to mention it would probably cost an arm and a leg to fix at this point.”

The omega was up on his feet, excitement obvious on his face. “Show me.”

Lance laughed at his sudden enthusiasm. “I think you need pants first.” He might like the sight of his husband trotting around in only a giant shirt (and his briefs no doubt), but that didn’t mean he wanted to share it with others.

…

Keith’s sudden disgust of anything spicy should have been easy to deal with. Just don’t put spices in things. But it made Lance realize just how _good_ things tasted when they were spicy. In theory, Lance could eat the stuff even if Keith couldn’t, the problem with that was that Keith got sick at the smell of certain spices.

It wasn’t _just_ the literal spices either. Alphas often had scent comparable to spice, strong herbs, and things like that. The end result was that, more often than not, the scent of other _alphas_ made Keith’s stomach twist.

Lance did a bit of research on it, and was surprised to see that it was a semi-common symptom of pregnancy found in omegas but not betas. They could literally become repulsed by the scent of any other alpha outside of his or her mate. There was some evidence that suggested there was a correlation to victims of assault in the past (by an alpha that wasn’t their own). That would certainly make sense for Keith, as he had very strong, negative reactions to certain scents that reminded him of people that hurt him in the past.

The end result was that if Keith just happened to get close to an alpha with the wrong scent in public for long enough to actually catch their scent, he got sick. He usually didn’t throw up right away, but he’d be extremely nauseated. The worst part is that there was really no rhyme or reason to it. It wasn’t like only bad people had scents that were incompatible to him.

Though he felt bad for it, Lance couldn’t help but be a little bit annoyed by this. In theory, eating the same way as Keith had to now was a good idea, but in reality, it really sucked. He might have bought his lunch more often than not lately as opposed to making it before he left in the morning, just to get that spicy, fatty goodness. 

Then he’d feel awful about it when he saw Keith dutifully eating his nutrient rich vegetables, lean meats, and more (Lance may or may not have taken a couple extra trips to the gym when he realized how badly he was actually eating). They really needed some people who were awesome cooks in on this whole pregnancy thing, because Lance knew there had to be ways to make things not so plain for him. Not that Keith ever complained. He admitted to missing more flavourful stuff, but if it was for their baby, it was worth it.

Things like that really made Lance adore his mate. How could he not? He threw himself into this whole pregnancy thing with gusto. Yeah, Keith probably would get sick and tired of it, and he probably would complain, but he was trying so hard right now.

They were almost at the three-month mark, which was absolutely mind blowing, but kind of made sense. He was gone for the first two months after all. Soon they would be able to share the good news with everyone else, and Lance couldn’t wait!

…

This was the first birthday Keith spent without his twin sister. 23 birthdays together up until that day. Even last year, Acxa and their mother surprised Keith by coming to visit him. That just wasn’t feasible right now though, because Acxa was in training, and Keith insisted that Krolia stay with her so she wasn’t alone.

Acxa was an alpha whose mate cheated on her and abandoned her. Having their mother, a familial omega, around helped when her instincts went a bit haywire.

Keith had a few birthdays in the past without his mother, but never without his sister. They were twins after all.

Since they couldn’t celebrate their 24th birthday together, they opted to video chat with one another when they could, catching one another up on things that were happening in their lives.

And well, it was still a bit early, a bit sooner than Keith wanted to start telling others about the baby, but this was Acxa. They literally shared a womb together. They’d always been together. She was with him through the most traumatic parts of his life, a pillar of comfort and support.

“I have something to tell you, and you can’t tell mom or any one else yet, okay?” he told her.

“Okay?” she raised an eyebrow at stared at him skeptically. “You know I won’t if you don’t want me to.”

He did know that. That was why Keith grinned at his sister and said, “I’m pregnant.”

There was a long pause as she stared at him blankly before her eyebrows shot up and her eyes went wide. She straightened her shoulders and said, “_Pregnant_? As like, with a baby?”

“No, with a chinchilla.” He rolled his eyes. “Yes, a baby!”

“Okay. Okay, wow. I—_wow_.” She sat back, her face blank outside of her wide eyes as she gathered her thoughts. Finally, she met his gaze and asked, “You want it? You’re happy?”

Keith swallowed, knowing exactly what she was talking about. Last time he didn’t want it and he wasn’t happy, and until Lance, she was the only one that knew that. He pushed those thoughts away easily, able to smile brightly at the thought of the baby within him. He nodded eagerly. “Yeah. I just want to wait until _after_ three months to tell everyone. It’s…close enough right now, and you’re mot twin so you’re the exception. Happy Birthday, you’re going to be an aunt in six-ish months.”

Never before had Keith seem her look quite so overwhelmed. When she spoke, it was airy, like she couldn’t believe what was happening. “I’m going to be an aunt.” He blinked a few times, but then froze for a second. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Wait, six-ish? Oh my _god_, your anniversary? Really?”

“Shut up,” Keith replied without any real heat in it. “Look, we _just_ agreed that we wanted to have a baby on our anniversary. We were going to wait a few months, but you know. It happens.”

Acxa frowned, and he could instantly see that cool logic creeping back in. She was probably seeing the issues that he already knew. Their money situation wasn’t great, which was a factor in waiting but the revelation that it wasn’t going to change too much anytime soon made him realize that if he wanted it, they shouldn’t wait. Their house was a bit awful. Their car…well…Lance fixed that situation already. Bless him.

The thing was, they were surrounded by friends and family that would be excited for them. The baby was going to be so, so loved. Keith already knew that he and Lance would do anything for their baby. It wouldn’t be easy, but every struggle would be worth it.

“I _am_ happy about this,” he assured her. “After getting sick and thinking that the chance to do this myself was gone, I realized I really wanted it.” His voice softened. “I want it more than almost anything.”

She smiled at him again. “Alright. If you need anything at all, I’m a call away. I’ll be on an airplane the same day.” She paused in thought and grinned again. “Allura’s going to lose her mind, and Shiro will probably cry.”

Keith couldn’t help but laugh loudly at that. She was probably right.

…

They had come to the conclusion that it was finally time to start telling people, and Lance respected the fact that it was Keith’s body currently undergoing a ton of transformations to cater to their child’s development, so he agreed that Keith got to choose the first person to tell, and the first person (Acxa didn’t count), was his mother.

Keith nervously tapped on his desk, phone held to his ear. His eyes were focused on the picture of the ultrasound he propped up in front of him, a reminder that everything would be okay and there was no reason to be nervous. For whatever reason, the thought of telling his mother made him nervous. It was different from telling Acxa.

“Hello?” His mother’s familiar voice instantly soothed him.

“Hey mom.”

“Keith! Sorry, I didn’t look at who was calling.” He heard her move around a little bit. “How are you?”

She acted as if she didn’t talk to him every other day. “Pretty good.” He wet his lips. “So, um…guess what?” She hummed curiously. He decided just to be straightforward and honest with his mother, since that was normally how she did things. He cleared his throat and said, “Ah, well. I uh—I’m—I’m pregnant.”

There was a long pause, and he wasn’t sure that if the call was dropped before she asked, “You’re pregnant?” Her voice was almost breathy.

“Yeah,” Keith let his free hand fall from the desk to his mostly flat stomach.

“And you’re happy?”  
  
He couldn’t stop the laugh from escaping his lips. Like mother like daughter, apparently, since Acxa asked him the exact same thing. It was heartening to know that his happiness was so important to both of them. He felt the same way towards both his mother and sister too.

Keith knew that a part of it for his mother was that she wasn’t able to help him when he’d been assaulted years ago. She wasn’t able to help him through his therapy. She wasn’t able to help him when he hurt himself.

His life was so, so different now. He’d never felt better about himself. “Yeah. I am. I’m really happy.”

Krolia laughed, the joyful sound making his heart leap. “You’re going to have a baby.”

Keith laughed in response to her laugh. “I’m going to have a baby.” He grinned impishly. “You’re going to be a grandmother.”

That made her pause, surprise passing over her features as she realized that yeah, he wasn’t just having a baby, he was going to be a mother and she was going to be a grandmother.

Her eyes welled up in tears, though her smile never faded. “I’m going to be a grandmother.”

…

“Do you _really_ want to do this?” Keith asked, sounding far more amused than he wanted to. How could he not? In return for telling Acxa and Krolia first, Keith agreed to go along with Lance’s plans to tell their friends. Naturally, Lance wanted to be as dramatic about it as possible. Normally, Keith might protest, but this was kind of a big deal, so why the hell not?

One thing that Keith did know though was that his mother and Acxa kept the good news to themselves. If Shiro or Allura knew, they would have blown up his phone already. So when Lance came up with a simple, but efficient plan to tell a bunch of their friends at the same time, Keith was all for it. He just wanted to double check that Lance really wanted to do it.

He grinned and said, “You bet I am.” He finished cropping the fridge out of the picture he took of their ultrasound that made Keith’s heart flutter a bit every time he saw it.

Keith grabbed his own cellphone and watched with baited breath as Lance prepared to send it to their group chat with their friends. There was another one with all of Lance’s family, but with thanksgiving coming up, they wanted to do something different for them.

**Lance > The Chat Formally Known As Sanity**

**Lance:** Why is Keith putting pictures of aliens around the house?

**Lance sent a picture.**

**Pidge:** Uhhh

**Hunk:** Lance, buddy, that’s not an alien

**Allura:** …Why does that sonogram have the name McClain at the top of it?  
  
**Hunk:** Wait

**Allura:** WHY DOES THAT SONOGRAM HAVE THE NAME MCCLAIN AT THE TOP LABELLED 8 WEEKS?  
  
**Hunk:** WAIT  
  
**Allura:** WHY DOES THAT SONOGRAM HAVE THE NAME MCCLAIN AT THE TOP LABELLED 8 WEEKS FROM A COUPLE WEEKS AGO?  
  
**Pidge:** oMG  
  
**Hunk:** REALLY?

**Shiro:** Why is Allura screaming at me to look at the chat?  
  
**Pidge:** SCROLL UP

**Shiro:** That’s a lot of caps.

**Shiro:** Wait

**Shiro:** WAIT

**Shiro:** I’M GOING TO BE AN UNCLE?

**Allura:** LANCE! KEITH!  
  
**Pidge:** Who decided it would be a good idea to let you two spawn?  
  
**Lance:** First of all, rude.

**Lance:** Second of all, literally everyone who’s been asking us for the past year  
  
**Pidge:** …you know what that’s fair, have a nice day.

**Pidge:** @keith what do you think of the name Cryptid?   
  
**Pidge:** No, wait. Kryptid! Keith please!

Keith cackling loudly, unable to stop the tears from spilling down his cheeks. “Cryptid with a K. Lance.”

“No,” he said firmly.

“But it’s their name, I can feel it,” he insisted with a chuckle. He wasn’t serious, but Lance didn’t need to know that.

“Please no,” the alpha begged, suddenly looking very afraid. It hit Keith then that he thought he was _serious_.

Oh, he was going to have _so_ much fun with this. All he did was grin broadly at Lance, while resting his hands on a miniscule swell of his stomach, his phone buzzing like crazy as Shiro tried to call him. He’d answer later, this was more important.

Lance’s face went pale. “Keith, please.”

“We’ll see.”

This was going to be fun.

….

When Lance thought back to a year ago, he was almost tickled with amusement. He and Keith were so happy to have a negative pregnancy test in hand at that point. They both accepted that if it happened, it happened, but they weren’t ready for it.

Now, maybe they still weren’t completely financially ready yet, but Lance felt so, so happy. Seriously, every time he saw Keith he felt this little rush of joy pass through him, and he knew that _Keith_ was super excited about it as well.

“You know,” Lance noted as they worked together to bake the apple pie for thanksgiving dinner, “even if it wouldn’t have happened back in August, we said your next heat, right? That would have been around now.”

Keith blinked with surprise at that before he smiled. “That’s true. Would have been going to this dinner knocked up any way you look at it.” He was a young, healthy omega, and Lance was a young, healthy alpha. There was no way they _weren’t_ going to get pregnant once they tried.

“Don’t say it that way,” Lance groaned. “Makes it sound like we’re a couple of teenagers that did an oops.”

“Did an oops,” Keith repeated, clearly amused. “You’re ridiculous.” He went back to slicing apples, and Lance was selfishly glad that cinnamon didn’t repulse him right now. He loved apple pie.

Turkey was another beast all together. No matter how good any of the cooks in his life were, Lance had never once had a good turkey. There were decent ones, but nothing particularly _good_.

For whatever reason, that year, it was even dryer than normal, and that really sucked. The good thing was the gravy helped a lot. The bad thing was that the gravy was his Mamá’s spicy one. Any time it came close to, Keith’s nose would scrunch up and he would quickly pass it while keeping his lips pressed together. Luckily, no one noticed that.

Sylvio and Nadia were both doing their own thing at the kiddie table, but Lance had to smile at them. They were growing up so quickly. That wasn’t counting Javier, who was a whopping eight months old and was one of the cutest babies he’d ever seen.

It didn’t help that, until they sat down to eat, it was nearly impossible to get Keith to put the baby down. He also smelled so happy when he was holding him, and if that wasn’t the cutest thing ever, Lance didn’t know what could be. 

Now though, baby Javier was happily making a mess of his mashed potatoes. It made Lance wonder about their future child. Would they look like Keith? Or like him? He kind of hoped that they took after neither one of them entirely. Would they be generally happy? Or a bit cranky? Would they be a picky eater, or a good one?

“What are you doing?” Marco asked, and Lance looked over at him, only to find him staring at Keith. A quick glance towards his mate had Lance grimacing, because at some point he ended up acquiring honey of all things, and proceeded to put it on literally everything on his plate. Including the potatoes and stuffing.

“Eating,” Keith replied nonchalantly, briefly meeting Lance’s gaze. That’s when it hit him, this was the _perfect_ moment to tell his family (somehow their friends hadn’t let it slip yet). Lance had been trying to think of something subtle but dramatic for his family (they’d pick up any overly dramatic bs he planned before he could even get it off they ground). He fought to keep a smile off of his face.

“Gross. What are you, pregnant?” Marco said it so sarcastically that Lance almost cheered. How was his brother setting this up so well? He could have said anything, but nope, he gave them the exact segway that they needed.

Keith, with his normal deadpanned look, simply glanced at him and said, “Yes.” He then kept eating. Lance could see the small, hidden smile on his face.

There was a clattering, and Lance looked around the table to see people’s reactions. Marco looked completely dumbstruck. His Aubela was smiling knowingly, because of course she knew. Everyone else looked stunned, and his Papá actually had tears in her eyes.

“Really?” she asked, her voice shaking.

Lance grinned brightly and nodded his head. “Yup!” He reached into his pocket, held it high in the air like he was presenting it from atop Pride Rock, and showed them the sonogram he brought with them to prove they weren’t joking. “Here’s Lance Junior!”

The others around the table were practically scrambling to see the picture.

“Eight weeks?” Veronica asked, staring at them with a huge grin on her face. “You’re eight weeks?”  
  
“About fourteen, actually,” Keith replied, still focused on his food. He seemed very content with the honey on his food. This was the first time Lance saw him eating something a bit strange, but this was one he could deal with. Honey was natural and an okay thing. Better than coating food with melted chocolate or something.

Keith clearly didn’t care about the ruckus his words caused, but Lance was sure that he was going to be smothered by his father’s tight grip. He looked over the top of her head towards his mother, and the man smiled at him brightly. He wasn’t a hugger, wasn’t ever really the touchy-feely type of person, but he was clearly happy.

“What’s happening?” Nadia asked curiously as she approached her mother’s side.

“Tio Keith is having a baby,” Lisa answered with an almost manic smile on her face. Both Nadia and Sylvio’s heads whipped towards Keith, who finally paid attention to the commotion around him.

Nadia hurried over to him and asked, “You’re having a baby?”

Keith smiled warmly at her. “Yeah. You’ll have a cousin in about six months.”

“Is it a boy? I hope it’s a boy!” Sylvio spoke up eagerly.

Nadia scowled viciously at him. “No! You have Javier! It should be a girl!” That set the two of them off arguing with one another.

Lance watched them with amusement as Lisa tried to tell them that they wouldn’t know what the baby is yet. Meanwhile, his Papá had snuck around him and to Keith’s side, offering him an excited hug. It wasn’t long after that, that they were being surrounded by excited hugs, and then champagne (that they already had) was poured for everyone except for Keith and the kids (he opted to have apple juice along with them).

There wasn’t a single frown, a single person who questioned their decision. All of them were purely happy for them, and it made Lance’s heart flutter with excitement. He was so happy that they were having this baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise update. I was inspired. :D
> 
> But also, as you may well remember, this Saturday marks one year since VLD lit itself on fire and threw itself off of a cliff into a trash pile. It also happens to be the day I'm going to be posting something very short that's going to lead to something very, very long.
> 
> As in the project I've been working on for the last year and have only finished a fraction of, long. It's even going to be beta read! I'm super excited to show you guys what I've been working on. Even if the prologue this weekend is going to be very short.


	6. ...When Things Change

A little after Lance came back from his expedition, he bought a piece of poster board and taped it to the wall, insisting that Keith let him trace his side profile and take a picture of him holding up a sign that said ‘10 Weeks’.

Personally, Keith thought these things were kind of stupid, but Lance was so excited, that he couldn’t say no to him, and he was sure that he’d appreciate it in retrospect. So long as Lance didn’t slap pastels or bows onto him (literally or digitally), it was harmless.

(Some omegas really got into the whole baby themed soft colours, frills, and so much more. Keith wasn’t there for that. He still regularly wore his leather jacket and fingerless gloves and side-eyed anything pastel like it was going to attack him.)

There wasn’t really anything noticeable at that point of time, but when Lance did it again at 12 weeks, there was that little curve they found that very well could have been normal bloating. It was barely noticeable even on paper though.

Keith refused to take the pictures every two weeks, and settled on every four. So when December rolled around, they did it again at 16 weeks, and this time the bump was there. It was visible when he wore his tight black shirts, but no one really noticed it if he had on a sweater or jacket, which was fine by him. Honestly though, someone might have mistaken it just for a little bit of normal pudge if they didn’t know what he looked like before.

It was still exciting to actually _see_ a difference. He could place his hand against his stomach and feel the very gentle curve that was there. It wasn’t big or anything, but that was apparently fairly normal.

He still was quite a bit smaller than what he saw portrayed in media, something that had Lance a bit nervous. Dr. Reinhart, bless her heart, explained that it was normal. She made sure that they knew, though he was on the lower side of the general okay weight range for a male omega of his stature and build, he was still within that range. She pointed to the scans and explained that it was likely his bump would be on the smaller side for this pregnancy.

Even when he didn’t go to the gym, sit-ups, crunches, and more exercises to work his core were something he tended to do more days than not. Due to this, the doctor explained, his core muscles were strong and tight, and that kept his uterus closer to it.

If he got pregnant again (which was likely to happen in the future if all went well this time), it was likely that he’d be a bit bigger, but that was fine. Every pregnancy was completely different.

They were happy, and they were healthy, and really, it felt like everything was finally going right.

…

High school was a rough time for Lance and Hunk, and maybe that was how they became friends. Neither one of them were typical alphas on their own. Hunk had the looks, but he was so kind and gentle that he really came across as an omega more than anything else, maybe a beta. Most people thought that Lance was an omega at first, simply because he took care of his skin and his hair. They bonded over that, and were close friends ever since.

Though they didn’t spend as much time together anymore, life taking them in their own directions, Lance could still tell that Hunk was nervous about something. Pidge and Keith seemed to be lost in their own conversation over the pancakes they ordered. Well, it was more Pidge talking rapidly, while Keith eagerly listened and happily munched on his sweet breakfast. Despite his desire to eat only the healthiest of foods, it was becoming obvious that the pregnant omega _craved_ sweet stuff. It wasn’t anything bad so far, and there were healthy ways to make things sweet, which did seem to appease Keith, but Lance was ready for the weirdness to begin.

Hunk would normally be eating as much as Keith currently was, but instead, he played with his food. That was so unlike him that it wasn’t even funny.

Lance realized he must have been staring, because Hunk suddenly looked at him, and his eyes went wide. They stared at one another before Hunk sighed, his shoulders slumping.

Brows furrowed, Lance leaned forward a bit. “You okay?” Keith glanced over, and Pidge paused in her story to pay attention.

“I—yeah.” Hunk dropped his eyes to his plate. “I just…have something to tell you guys. It’s a good thing! I think.”

The other three exchanged looks before Lance nodded his head. “What’s up?”

“Well, you know how Shay lives in Vegas, right?” The fact that Shay’s family was essentially the head of a gang was something they all knew, but didn’t really acknowledge out loud. When they all nodded, he said, “And laws aren’t getting much nicer for omegas.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, we decided…I mean I want to—I’m going to Vegas again.” He looked from one person to the next. “I have a job waiting for me after New Years. Cause it makes more sense for me to go there than for her to come here. And I think it’ll be really good for me, for us, but I—” Hunk blinked his eyes rapidly. “I’m going to miss you guys.”

Lance’s stomach twisted at the thought. Yeah, they didn’t hang out as much, but Lance didn’t want Hunk to _leave_.

Then again, was it not only after he had his own mate that they stopped spending as much time together? Movie night changed from every week to every other week, turning into an additional date night for him and Keith. And really, they were hunkering down a little bit, already readying themselves for the arrival of their baby in five months’ time. So Lance would be a huge hypocrite if he didn’t want Hunk to go after the person he loved too. He _understood_. He would gladly go across the world for Keith. Keith came across the country for _him_ when he barely knew him.

“It’s what you want to do?” Keith asked him, his voice serious.

“More than anything,” Hunk quickly replied with a nod. There was absolutely no hesitation in his voice.

“If we can keep up with Shiro and Allura, there’s no reason we can’t do the same with you.” Keith spoke so confidently that it actually made Lance feel better, because it was absolutely true. He only got to meet Shiro and Allura for a few days two separate times, and he felt like he had a decent relationship with them already. There was absolutely no reason that Hunk leaving meant that they wouldn’t be friends anymore. Not only that but he was going with his mate, and Lance of all people could understand that.

“If you even thought of losing contact with us, I’d hunt you down,” Pidge assured Hunk, her voice thick with emotion.

“And you better come back to meet our baby,” Lance added, blinking rapidly.

“I wouldn’t miss it.” The other alpha laughed and said, “I love you guys.”

They laughed together, talked, and made plans for the upcoming weeks they had left together before life too them off in different directions.

…

Pidge was in a foul mood, and Keith knew it didn’t have to do with her disinterest in the video they tried to shoot. She loved conspiracies, and the fact that she was breaking open what looked to be a very real conspiracy hiding the fact that female alphas _could_ get pregnant, and male omegas could impregnate invigorated her at first.

(“Technically speaking, you’re biology a completely different sex from me, even though we’re both omegas and lumped together,” Pidge said to him when she went over her notes. “You actually have more in common with a female alpha since you’re both intersex.”)

The thing was, she’d been on edge and annoyed all day long to the point where her scent was sour and unpleasant to be around. One part of Keith wanted to soothe her, but the other part wanted to recoil away from her. More than anything else, he found that he was incredibly sensitive to the scents of others as of late. More than normal. It was a common symptom of pregnancy, no doubt formed to help pregnant people avoid those who could cause them harm, or maybe even their bodies altering to catch minute changes in their pups when they were born.

He jerked with surprise when she screamed in frustration and actually smacked her papers onto the floor. Keith’s hand came up to his stomach in almost a protective gesture as the papers fluttered by him. He wasn’t in any kind of danger, but he didn’t appreciate her throwing things in his general direction. It made him want to snarl at her. Genuine snarling wasn’t something omegas did often, but it was a common warning they instinctively used during pregnancy, something shared with betas as well.

Pidge gathered up her notes, and then shocked him by proceeding to _rip_ them to pieces. “What are you _doing_?”

“We can’t use this,” she spat at him. “It’s all about how society is wrong and we’re trying to educate others into seeing that, but we can’t do that because _you_ went and became like any other omega.”

“Excuse me?” he asked slowly, anger coursing through him.

“You talk like you get that everything is bad, that you’re different, but you’re just like all the other omegas. Gave into an alpha and got knocked up. That doesn’t help anyone else. I can’t very well talk about all these conspiracies with someone who just goes with what he’s supposed to do.”

“Are you _serious_?” Keith snapped at her angrily. “Me being pregnant doesn’t mean that I don’t agree information’s been ignored or hidden from us? What the _fuck_, Pidge?” He mentally reminded himself that she might be going through something right now. “I’m allowed to want a baby!”

“Cause you’re an _omega_ so that’s what you want or all you’re good for.”

“I don’t know what your problem is, but I _want_ my baby, and that has nothing to do with _anything_ else.” He stood up and headed towards the stairs, blinking his eyes rapidly because he was _angry_, and he shouldn’t be about to cry.

Keith was in the process of forcing his feet into his shoes when Pidge came running up the stairs and towards him. “I’m sorry! I just…Matt told us yesterday that he was moving in with his girlfriend so they’re probably going to be mates soon, and Hunk is going to Vegas to work and be with Shay, and you and Lance are going to have your baby and you’ll be focused on them, as you should be, and I’m just _here_ in my parents’ basement because I’m an omega with no interest in alphas or pups or mates at all and there’s nowhere I can go and nothing I can do anymore without one and I just…just…”

She felt like she was alone, like she was going to be alone. So many emotions welled up within Keith, but he didn’t quite know what to say. Everything she said was right. If Matt moved in with his girlfriend, odds are they probably would become mates. Hunk was going out to Vegas to be with Shay. He and Lance were going to have to focus on their baby before anything else. She couldn’t get her own apartment or job without an alpha or beta to sign for her.

Maybe there was some _right_ thing to say, but Keith didn’t know what that was. Instead, he awkwardly reached out and pulled her into a hug, letting her break down and sob. All he could do was hold her and try to fight off the tears that threatened to fall for her.

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that everyone is having a great day, and that this time of year is whatever you need it to be. I celebrate Christmas, so Merry Christmas! To those who celebrate any of the other wonderful holidays around this time of year (I need to educate myself more specifically...), Happy Holidays! 
> 
> I know that there are those that hate this time of year though, so I hope it goes by swiftly for you, and that you have a good time doing things that make you smile, because that's what's most important!
> 
> This was just a brief little update including Hunk and Pidge. And I also have another one ready for tomorrow, because I had more inspiration! 
> 
> If anyone missed it, I launched my rewrite of VLD with a prologue and a first, very long, chapter! They're beta read and I'm honestly proud of them. Fun fact: I actually wrote chapter one a full year ago. It's been a long, slow process and I'm nowhere close to the end. Check it out if you get the change! 
> 
> Also I'm going to be doing another really neat project soon, most likely launching on January 11th (my birthday). You can check out my instagram [@storiesbeyondthestars](https://www.instagram.com/storiesbeyondthestars/) for more info. I've also launched a second instagram that's a bit more streamlined, [@stellarsierras](https://www.instagram.com/stellarsierras/).
> 
> I hope you all have a great day!


	7. ...During Christmas

It was actually really cold the day Keith decided to go to the aquarium. He felt a little antsy at home, not really wanting to work on any of his commissions, and not really having much to do around the house. He was also struggling to figure out what he wanted to get Lance for Christmas. He put it off a little late, but it wasn’t from a lack of ideas. It was because he couldn’t decide which of those ideas he wanted to get Lance.

They both agreed that because the baby was coming, they would only get one another one thing within a certain budget, since they wanted to save as much as they possibly could. They weren’t getting presents for any of their friends that year for the same reason. Keith’s problem was that he had a few ideas, and didn’t know which one to settle on. So he decided to visit Lance and watch him at work, take him in within that environment, and maybe he’d be able to decide.

That, and he found himself liking the aquarium. It was soothing when it wasn’t busy.

There was a little baby dolphin there (he remembered how excited Lance was about it), and Keith had to smile at it, his hand resting on his hidden stomach. Their baby would be here next Christmas. Keith’s heart jolted when he realized that they would be a little over seven months old then. They would be able to smile and play and would be making happy sounds, and might even be able to enjoy Christmas a little. Maybe not understand, but still have fun.

That thought sent his mind spiralling, and for a wild moment he didn’t want that. He didn’t want this experience to be over. He didn’t want his baby here yet, because he hadn’t experienced anything with them yet. He wanted to feel them move and kick. He wanted to see his belly get big and know it was because he and Lance made a brand new life together. Yes, he wanted his baby, but the point was that he wanted to experience his baby growing. Sure, when he was later on he’d probably want it over but that was future Keith’s problem, not his.

It was just so strange to think that, while he barely had a baby bump, he would be in this spot next year at some point, visiting the aquarium and looking at a now bigger little dolphin with his big, smiling baby in hand. Maybe he’d have them in a stroller, or maybe he would pick them up out of it so they could see the fish better. 

His eyes followed after the baby dolphin as he blinked away the tears that welled up along with his emotions.

Keith took a deep breath and forced himself to keep walking until he found his mate. When he did, a big smile rose up across his lips. He was talking to a few young kids that were there with their parents. The sight of it made something warm well up within Keith, because Lance was just so, so good with children. Fuck, he was going to be a fantastic father.

“Hello Keith.”

He started a bit, and glanced over to see one of Lance’s coworkers that he couldn’t remember the name of (oops).

The man smiled at him and asked, “How are you feeling?”

At first, he was confused, but then remembered that Lance admitted to telling everyone at work, because he was so excited. Then he remembered that this wasn’t necessarily a coworker. This was the marine biologist that Lance worked with on his thesis and went on the expedition with. He would have been there when Lance flipped out about being a dad two seconds after finding out.

“Good,” Keith said with a nod. “Just wanted to visit, but he’s busy.”

“I was looking to speak to him as well, but I didn’t want to interrupt either. He’s very good with people.” The man smiled. “I admit, I am very impressed with how far he has come over the past year. He worked hard to get his position here, to get his first degree. As his advisor, I was very concerned with him before, and then he came back here with you, and started to heal from whatever it was that dragged him down.” The man sounded more than impressed. “Did you know that he’s the youngest student in his specific program, and he’s leaps and bounds ahead of many of the others. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone so committed to the sea. It’s even more impressive to realize he sees all aspects of life like that.”

Keith flushed a bit as pride welled up within him. Lance’s success had nothing to do with him, it was entirely his own, and he was so, so proud of him. There wasn’t any doubt in Keith’s body that his husband was going to be successful. That he was going to study and help marine animals.

Their baby was going to have such a good role model in him. In his own eyes, Keith wasn’t much, but if they were an omega, he could still teach them that they could be strong and independent, that they didn’t have to play by the expectations of others. He would teach them self defense no matter what they turned out to be, and also how to fix a car cause Lance was awful at figuring anything like that out and he’d be damned if his own child couldn’t change their own tires.

Okay, so maybe he wouldn’t be awful at this, but they were going to be very different role models. And Lance was going to be absolutely fantastic. He was going to be warm and nurturing. He was going to play and laugh with them, to help teach them right from wrong. He was going to love them and not be one of those distant fathers that left everything but discipline to the mothers. Nor was he just going to be ‘the fun one’.

“Ah, right,” the old man said suddenly, “I suppose that congratulations are in order, are they not? My wife and I had six little ones! They’re all grown up now, my youngest is in high school, and my oldest has pups of his own. Still, it’s very exciting.”

Keith blinked at that. This man was very clearly a beta, and it was well known that betas struggled more to conceive, even if it was with an omega. Like with Shiro and Allura. Though, to be fair, he had a lot of other things going against him too, so he struggled a little more. Still, six was a big number.

A part of Keith wanted a big family, but six seemed too much to him.

“Yeah,” he agreed awkwardly. “We’re really excited.” That sounded so fake even to him, even if they _were_ actually super excited. “Lance said he did a lot of research while he was gone on pregnancy, but I hope he did a lot of the research he was supposed to be doing?”

That seemed to be the right thing to say for once, as the man went off on stories about their expedition as they apparently both waited for Lance. Most of the stories were actually very entertaining.

In fact, he was the in the middle of a riveting retelling of Lance’s battle against a seagull over his sandwich when the alpha in question finally seemed to notice them. He came up to Keith’s side and groaned. “That seagull had it coming.” Lance’s eyes darted between the two of them, clearly confused about what they were doing together.

“I came to visit,” Keith admitted. “But I can wait a little bit. Go take a look around.” He didn’t want to get in the way of anything that Lance had to do for work or school.

“Alright. How about we meet up in the food court?” Lance suggested like the manipulative cur he was. He knew that Keith couldn’t turn down food.

Over the past week, his vomiting settled a little again. Certain smells still hit him the wrong way and made him sick, and nausea still rolled through him without prompting from time to time, but the baby seemed to hate him a little less. His appetite was definitely getting a bit better, and he had quite the sweet tooth as of late.

Yet when Keith found himself at the food court, he found himself drawn to something else entirely. That was how he found himself happily munching on some deep-fried pickles as he waited for his mate. Just the smell of it made his mouth water and his stomach gurgle. Well, actually, it felt a little more like gas. Like faint bubbles bushing against him. Gas was weird like that.

God, these deep-fried pickles were probably going to give him heartburn, but it was so worth it. He’d have to look up if he could have roll aids or something later, because right now, all he wanted to do was eat these pickles because they were the absolute best thing he’d had in a while. Like, Keith didn’t have an aversion towards pickles, but they weren’t ever something he sought out. Now it was the best thing ever.

Oh. Oh _god_ he was being _that_ person, wasn’t he? Keith thought that it was a _myth_ that pregnant people craved pickles. Well, salt content aside, he supposed it wasn’t the worst thing he could crave. Though the deep friend part probably didn’t help him at all.

Eh, who cared if something may or may not be a myth or a common exaggeration? Keith didn’t. All he cared about was that he kept his baby healthy.

Lance found him there, seemingly very amused by something. He went to grab his own lunch before sitting down next to him. “Having a good time?”

“Yeah, I was bored at home,” Keith admitted. “Thought I’d come see you for a bit, but you’re a popular guy today.”

Another laugh escaped Lance’s lips as he leaned forward, nosing his neck a bit. “None of them were as important as you.” He inhaled and then nuzzled him a bit. “I love when you smell this happy.”

“I love when you’re happy too,” he replied easily, because it was so true. “What did your professor want?”

“Oh, just to talk to me about some of the research, and lab days and stuff like that. Things are moving pretty quickly,” Lance admitted.

For as often as he talked down about himself, Keith knew that when Lance was dedicated to an idea, when he was interested in it, he was wickedly smart. He brushed over the fact that he got his bachelor’s degree a year early, and that he was in the second year of his graduate degree, and he was well on his way into his thesis work. He would spend his “work” days between the university and the aquarium, and Keith was more than proud of him.

“I’m not going to go for my PHd right yet,” Lance admitted not too long ago. If he wanted to do his own independent research (he had supervisors and everything on his expedition), he’d probably need that, but that could mean another six whole years of schooling. “Prospects are pretty good right now with my Masters.”

A part of Keith felt like this had to do with him _and_ the baby. He knew that Lance wanted to be there for both of them, and while he could do that and pursue a doctorate at the same time, if he didn’t want to, Keith was going to respect that. He wasn’t going to argue with Lance about what he wanted. When his alpha took the time to think and plan ahead, he was usually right.

They cuddled together as they ate, before Lance had to get back to work. Keith still didn’t quite know what to get him, the trip not really helping much, so he set out towards the malls in hopes that he could think of _something_.

Maybe he’d want a deep fryer and some pickles? Maybe an acti-fry thing or whatever it was. That sounded like an awesome present to Keith. He wondered if Lance got him anything yet, and if he could at all hint towards it?

…

Lance was drunk. Very, very drunk from the looks of it, and Keith was more than a little concerned, even if his mate seemed like everything in the world was right. It would have been fine if it was on purpose, but it wasn’t. He hadn’t known the eggnog was spiked when he chugged it down like the adorable idiot he was.

Keith had come to the party suspicious of everything that he didn’t see come directly from a sealed bottle. Lance’s siblings called him paranoid, but that paranoia hadn’t let him down yet. The fact that he could have seriously hurt his baby if he did take the drinks he was offered wasn’t lost on him. That same fact had Lance’s Papá absolutely raging against the cousins that did it. If any of the family didn’t know that he was expecting, they did now.

That wasn’t the thing that bothered Keith most though. He’d been prepared for that and was smart about everything. No, what bothered him was the fact that Lance’s drink had been spiked and now he was drunk. This was literally something that they had gone to therapy about. Lance seemed fine now, but Keith had no idea what to expect when he was sober.

“Keith,” Lance whined as they got into their apartment. “I think…I’m drunk.”

“Yes, yes you are,” Keith agreed, and felt a bit bad that he was amused. He didn’t actually remember what impaired Lance was like, but he wasn’t at all worried about him being angry, nasty, or anything like that. There was no way impaired Keith would have mated with him otherwise. Really, Lance was just a little more uncoordinated and silly.

The alpha was clingy and cuddly, with great big smiles until they got to the stairs in their apartment building, which is promptly proclaimed as evil.

Lance watched, apparently fascinated as Keith took off his jacket. He stumbled over, and wrapped his arms around him from behind, hands resting on his stomach. “There’s a baby in there.”

“Yeah, there is,” Keith agreed as he flung his coat on the back of the couch like the good adult he was until he _had_ to show proper behaviours for impressionable little minds in the future.

Lance hummed and then took out his phone. He fumbled with it, but apparently was able to get to where he wanted to go as he started blasting Christmas music. He held his hand out to Keith and wiggled his eyebrows. “Dance with me?”

“How about we get your jacket and shoes off first?” He chuckled as Lance winked at him and stumbled to get the aforementioned clothes off. His socks and pants ended up flying in the process, and Keith couldn’t help but think this was the single most amusing strip tease that Lance had ever done.

That thought gave him pause. In the couple months since Lance came home, they hadn’t exactly picked up where they left off with their sexual activities (meaning they went from a lot to almost nothing). Honestly, he hadn’t felt up to it and was very clear about that, something Lance respected. He was sore and sick and tired, and though they fooled around a bit, it was nothing compared to what they’d been doing before.

(“You gotta top before you can’t anymore,” Lance joked and mimed a round belly. Keith threw a pillow at him.)

Now, being pregnant, there were a few things that happened. Different hormones increased and could cause him to want sex more, as well as more blood flow down around that area. That let to one unfortunate side effect that male omegas had that females didn’t. Lance nearly asphyxiated himself when he read what it was. “You’re going to walk around with a boner half the time?”

“Not that I’ll ever use it with _you_ again.” That was the biggest lie Keith ever told.

A big lie indeed. Keith suddenly felt very interested in the bit of skin that peaked out between Lance’s boxers and his shirt. His eyes continued up until they met his gaze, a dopey, dramatic grin on his features. “Like what you see?” He wiggled his eyebrows yet again.

Keith laughed and reached out to him, “You know I do.” He sighed happily as he tugged Lance forward, allowing the alpha to lean onto him as they slowly moved in circles like they were at a middle school dance.

“Sooo….” Lance trailed of suggestively, and Keith leaned back to see his lewd smirk. “Any chance you wanna piece of this? It’s Christmas Eve. I can be a ho ho ho.”

A loud snort escaped Keith’s lips. “You’re drunk babe, so no.” Maybe if they had some kind of agreement in place for when one or both of them was intoxicated, but this wasn’t something that they expected to happen. Live and learn. As much as Keith suddenly wanted very much to jump his husband, he was going to wait. He leaned in and kissed him quickly. “Tomorrow maybe you can barter though.” Keith knew that if they had sex, Lance wouldn’t be upset or anything about it in the morning, but the fact that they didn’t get to talk about it beforehand didn’t sit right with him, so it wasn’t going to happen. Might sound dumb to anyone else, but Keith was sticking to it.

Especially since Lance was drunk because his drink was spiked. They got married, had sex, and mated with one another the last time they had spiked drinks, and though the context of the situation was incredibly different, Keith didn’t want to add any more similarities to what happened in Vegas.

Lance sighed again and leaned back into him. “Cuddles then?”

“Always,” Keith agreed as they swayed. It was normal at first, but then got progressively dramatic, causing him to laugh again as they swayed and twisted around clumsily.

“Baby’s first dance,” Lance mumbled tiredly.

“I don’t think this counts.”

“There’s a baby in there, and it’s moving while we dance. Baby’s first dance.”

Keith didn’t have it in him to argue with Lance, because this was hilarious and adorable.

God, he loved his ridiculous little family so much.

He tucked Lance into bed later on before going to get ready himself with his comfortable pyjama pants and t-shirt. Keith couldn’t help but look at himself in the mirror, turning sideways. With that specific shirt, his bump was easy for him to notice. He’d always been small and skinny, and even now, most of the definition he worked hard for was still there, barring the fact that both his abdomen and chest were slightly swollen. He really didn’t seem to be gaining a lot of excess fat anywhere else, yet, which was really nice. Not to jinx it.

As excited as Keith was about his baby, and as much as he understood that it meant sacrifices, especially within his own body (comfort, sleep, and so much more), it would still be awesome if he didn’t gain a lot of extra weight. It looked good on many people, but he doubted it’d look good on him. Well, from his perspective at least.

Lance was snoring loudly when he got back to bed, laid on his belly with his face sideways. That was good, because it’d be easier for him to throw up if he needed to and not choke. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that. Keith _just_ got over his sickness, they didn’t need Lance down next.

Keith snuggled close to his side and sighed happily. He fell asleep easily that night.

…

“I hate my cousins,” Lance declared the next morning. He didn’t throw up, but he had a hell of a headache.

Keith chuckled as he finished putting the bacon he cooked onto their plates. Once he was sure the stove was off, he went over to the couch where Lance sluggishly set up the tv tables before flopping down and groaning about how bright it was.

“Food and painkillers,” Keith offered as he set the plates on the tables.

“You’re amazing,” Lance groaned as he sat up, wrapping his arms around Keith to pull him in closer so that his head was resting against his abdomen. “Hear that, little baby? Your mama’s an amazing man and we don’t deserve him. Best husband ever.”

He chuckled and ran his hands through his hair. “Can’t leave you with a headache on Christmas.” He paused, not wanting to bring the mood down, but he had to ask. “Are you okay? I mean, you had a spiked drink and all…”

Lance hummed, nuzzling his cheek against the bump as if he was trying to scent the baby, who would naturally smell mostly like Keith when they were born no matter their gender or dynamic. It was a safety measure from a time when their ancestors were in the wild with predators around, to blend the vulnerable infant with their mother. Most alphas instinctively tried to scent their partners and children to ward others off. “Yeah. I’m _pissed_, but I don’t feel any kind of…relapse or anything.” His eyes turned to Keith. “I think it’s because of you. I didn’t lose my memory of the night, and I knew you were sober. I felt completely safe with you, so I knew nothing bad was going to happen, and I was right.” He leaned back against Keith’s belly.

Oh Jesus, Lance was going to _kill_ him with all this sap. Keith’s heart couldn’t take it.

He leaned away from Keith and said, “Before you sit down can you grab that little present right there?” He pointed at the small one that Keith had been wondering about. He grabbed it and sat down beside Lance. “Open it.”

As much as Keith wanted to, his stomach growled loudly, and yeah, food was definitely more of a priority. He didn’t want it to go cold or anything, and Lance needed to get something into him to help deal with his hangover.

While they were eating, Lance decided that they really needed Christmas music playing in the background, and somehow, that alone made Keith emotional. They were sitting in their crappy little living room with a couple of TV trays beside their TV and Christmas tree, Lance dealing with a hangover and yet, it somehow seemed so perfect.

Keith sat, comfortable and full on the couch as Lance got up and took the plates to set in the sink. He genuinely felt so content that he couldn’t help but purr a bit. When Lance came back, he leaned onto him and said, “Open it.” He nodded towards the present.

In any retelling, Keith would say he neatly opened the present, but in reality, he kind of tore it off in pieces. He was not a refined man.

Inside were two simple, glittery Christmas decorations. In the center of the first one was a picture of them from last year, and in the second one was a picture from a few weeks ago when Lance had put a piece of paper on his belly that said ‘Baby T-6 Months’.

(Their pregnancy reveals might have been much more lowkey than Keith expected, but Lance was certainly making up for in with things like that.)

Keith hadn’t realized how much he changed. Back then, he knew he was in love with Lance, but he’d still been getting used to it. Everything was so new. The way they looked at one another was like a couple fresh off of their honeymoon (even though they never had one). In the newer picture, his hair was longer, down to his shoulders instead of just below his chin. The scar on his face was a little paler. There was something about him that looked more comfortable, more at ease and happy. The way he and Lance looked at one another was a little less intense, but the softness of it made Keith’s heart flutter.

“I know it’s dumb to give a Christmas ornaments on Christmas, but I was thinking,” Lance said almost shyly, breaking Keith from his thoughts. “That we could get a picture together every year. Us and whatever babies or pets we might have. Fill up a house with them. These ones aren’t very expensive, but that’s okay. They can reflect different stages of our life together.”

Keith looked at him, at his sweet, handsome, beautiful, thoughtful, wonderful (and many other -ful words) mate. Lance was different too, and one of the biggest differences was that he held himself with more confidence. It was only now looking at a direct comparison that Keith realized just how much broader Lance’s shoulders had gotten over a year, how much stronger he was. Bless the gym. Keith loved Lance as he was and never cared that he was stronger than him for a long time (because who actually care about that) but more Lance was…well…_more _Lance. That was very much to his interests.

He set the ornaments down, and pushed Lance back so that he could sling his leg across his lap. Keith pressed his hands to Lance’s cheeks and kissed him deeply. His mate hummed approvingly as he kissed back. His hands slid around Keith’s hips, resting on the small of his back before subtly sliding lower. Maybe Lance thought he was being subtle about copping a feel.

Keith drew back and saw the smug smirk on his face. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, “What are you doing?”

“Holding what I love,” he replied with a completely straight face. “Which of course, means you in your entirety.”

“Pretty sure you mean my ass.”

“I mean, it’s a great ass.”

The omega snorted and ran his hands along Lance’s shoulders and down his arms, not so subtly admiring the lean muscles that he’d been building over the past year without Keith even realizing it. “Think you can carry me?”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Where are we going?”

Keith could have gotten up and walked over to the bedroom, because he was admittedly a little sore, and while he really _wanted_ to have sex, he didn’t want to do it on the couch. He admittedly was a bit bossy most of the time, wanting to be in charge, but was it too much for a guy to want to just sit back and relax from time to time?

Instead, he fluttered his eyes and lowered his voice. “I was hoping to go back to bed.” He made sure that everything about his body language and scent was suggestive, smirking a bit when he felt Lance shudder under his hands.

“What about presents?” The alpha was very clearly struggling, but bless him for holding onto his sanity.

Keith brushed his lips against his husband’s and said, “This is part of your present.” Laughter bubbled out of his lips as Lance gripped him tightly and stood up, teetering a bit at first, because maybe Keith wasn’t _as_ ripped as last year, but he was still _heavy_.

“Don’t drop me,” Keith warned as he wrapped his arms and legs around his mate as he started to walk. If it was just him, he’d be a bit annoyed at being dropped, but it wasn’t just him and though humans were hearty, babies were still so fragile.

“Never,” Lance assured him. “I wanna make you scream, but not in that way.”

Keith laughed again, nuzzling his face into Lance’s shoulder. “Is that my Christmas present?” He let his grip loosen as Lance carefully set him down, arms straining a little bit, but he wasn’t worried at all.

Lance’s blue eyes scanned him before looking back to meet his gaze. “The best present.” He leaned down to kiss him, and yeah, Keith could kind of agree with that.

A smile from Lance was better than any material present any day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I have something to post tomorrow.  
Also me: Almost forgets to post.
> 
> Chapter summary: Lance praise, Keith cravings, proper consent being the most sexy thing ever, and sweet Christmas gifts. 
> 
> I don't even know what I'm doing at this point, but these are more like drabbles than anything else and I am okay with that!


	8. ...With A Flutter

At first, Keith thought that it was just gas. Being gassy was a very unfortunate side of pregnancy, and he was honestly kind of glad that he had a husband who had moments where he was just as gross. It made Keith able to handle the embarrassment of just not being able to hold it in. It was one of those things that people didn’t talk about much in regards to pregnancy, because that wouldn’t glamourize it at all. They talked about the glow and the kicks and the excitement for a new baby, and the negatives were the morning sickness, the tiredness, and the mood swings.

No one talked about the fact that you’d let one rip without any warning, no matter where you were. Maybe if he had a giant, obvious baby belly, it wouldn’t be as humiliating, but his ab muscles were, as Lance put it, boss. They held things in really well. It was something Lisa was super jealous about, since she was still trying to work off her baby weight.

“You’re one of those men that make a pregnancy look good,” she pouted to him once. “Super shiny hair, the glow, and not a giant whale.”

Keith disagreed with her, because now that his nausea was a rare occurrence, he always felt hungry. He felt like a little hobgoblin that always needed food or he’d get cranky.

Honestly, Keith thought that the whole thing about cravings was super dramatized, and maybe for some people it was. Maybe they could go without that intense urge for specific foods. He, unfortunately, was not one of those people. He thought that the deep-fried pickles were strange enough, or maybe the honey on stuff, but now when he didn’t get what he wanted, it actually made him angry or sad. It wasn’t even completely consistent. One day he was all about those awesome superfoods that were supposed to be good for pregnancy. The next he really wanted _beans_. Really cheap beans in all different kinds of sauces.

Huh, that might have explained the gas too. Cause and effect.

The point was that Keith though the strange feeling inside of him was gas because that was his life now. Then he realized that it was an oddly specific, repeating, fluttering feel, like something was very gently brushing against his insides.

That was when reality hit him hard and he dove for his phone, typing the description of what he was feeling into google. What he found made his heart skip a beat. He was feeling his baby move for the first time. Quickening, they called it. Most first time parents tended not to feel movements like this until later, but he was almost at the point where they’d be able to find out the sex of their baby, so it wasn’t entire unheard of.

Keith sat down on the couch with his legs crossed, looking down at his belly. Most people didn’t notice his baby bump yet, since it was only the gentlest of curves on his abdomen. He still fit his own t-shirts for now even if they were tighter, though his pants were a chore since he normally wore tight jeans as they were. Keith noticed the bump though, almost obsessively so. Lance noticed it too, probably even more familiar than Keith with what his body looked like from an outside perspective.

He felt the fluttering movement, and carefully lifted his shirt off, leaving it on the couch beside him. He gently pressed his hands to his stomach, tracing where he could feel the flutters. “Hi baby. I feel you.” They were actually moving around! It was one thing to know he was pregnant, to experience the changes, but to know that they were moving was something else all together!

Luckily, no one was around to see him tear up.

…

Lance frowned at Keith’s belly from where they laid on the bed, trailing his fingers over his skin. “Are you _sure_ they’re moving right now?”  
  
“Yup.” The little internal movements were becoming slightly more specific, much to his joy. He was able to feel it a little better than before, able to separate it from other strange bodily reactions and movements.

Unfortunately, none of these movements were remotely visible from the outside, much to Lance’s displeasure. He practically vibrated with excitement when Keith told him about the movements, and was disappointed to know that he likely wouldn’t feel anything from the outside for a little while.

“Come on little baby,” Lance spoke directly to his stomach. “Don’t you want to show Papi that you’re here?” When there were no movements, he pouted again. “You’re going to be a Mama’s pup, aren’t you?”

Keith chuckled a bit at that. “We’ll see. They’re going to love you so much.”  
  


That brought a smile to Lance’s face and he hummed, muttering quietly to the baby. Keith settled back, warm and comfortable, running a hand through Lance’s hair.

…

“There’s our little one,” Dr. Reinhart said happily as she moved the wand against Keith’s stomach so that they could see the baby on the screen. “They’re a good size, and I don’t see anything that worries me.”

Lance couldn’t really focus on what the doctor was saying though, his eyes locked on the screen, because that was very clearly a baby. It was a little person, and they were amazing. On the screen, Lance could see the smallest of twitches and movements. “That’s our baby.”

She laughed. “Yes, it is.” Her gaze darted back and forth between the two of them. “I have a good view here, would you like to know their sex? To the best of my abilities. It’s impossible to tell the difference between a male alpha and male beta, a female alpha and male omega, or a female beta and female omega. At least not without specific tests.” Perhaps it was because they seemed like a very untraditional couple, but she also bluntly added, “It’s a myth that people don’t know until they ‘present’. When your baby is born, we can do a few harmless tests if need be. Alphas are the easiest to pick out though.”

“Why’s that?” Lance asked, genuinely curious.

She laughed. “Due to the maternal hormones at birth, including some trauma, it’s not uncommon to see a knot early on. The hardest ones to figure out are the female betas and omegas, but still doable.”

“Huh.” Lance hadn’t known that, and it was really interesting.

“I want to know,” Keith said, his voice soft as he looked up at Lance almost pleadingly. He knew that no matter how open Dr. Reinhart was, she had to do whatever it was that Lance wanted. Not that he’d ever deny Keith something like this. It wouldn’t at all make a difference to him what their baby was for now until they decided who they wanted to be, boy or girl or anything in between.

“Yeah, I do too,” he agreed.

“I’ve got a good view here,” the doctor assured them. “Congratulations, your little one is a girl.” Dr. Reinhart once again reminded them that they could be a beta or an omega, she wasn’t sure. Lance didn’t hear any of that though. He felt like he was underwater, because they were having a _girl_.

Lance looked down at Keith, who had unshed tears in his eyes as he rested his hand on the part of his stomach that didn’t have gel on it. Keith looked up at him. “I know nothing about girls.”

The alpha snorted loudly. “You have a twin sister.”

“She’s not a girl, she’s Acxa.”

He laughed again and rested his head on top of Keith’s staring at the picture with a huge smile on his face. Their baby girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not ready to post my next chapter of Gathering Nebulas yet, but I wanted to post something since it's my birthday and I usually try to post *something* on it. So this short little drabble with have to do! Even if I don't reply to everyone, I still very much appreciate all of your comments! They seriously mean everything!


	9. ...Because Of A Pink Slip

It was a knock at the door that brought reality crashing back down into Keith and Lance’s lives. They’d been lost in their happy little bubble about expanding their two-person family into a three-person one. Not including others, of course. Hunk might have been out in Vegas with Shay, and Keith was pretty sure that Pidge was plotting world domination, but they were still family as much as Shiro, Acxa, Veronica, Rachel, Luis, Marco and everyone else was. Things were good for them.

So of course something had to happen to burst their happy bubble. Happiness wasn’t something that their world wanted people like them to have.

Keith heard the strange thumping, and carefully looked outside, more than confused at what he saw. There was a smartly dressed young man, likely in his 30s, that was moving on to the next door to put a pink slip on it. Keith looked up at the one that had been put on their door, and his stomach plummeted.

It was an eviction notice.

“What?” Keith blurted out, his eyes wide as he took it off the door. He was going to throw up.

The man turned to face him, eyes instantly falling to the now visible swell of Keith’s stomach. Stomach muscles were great and all, but the baby was still getting bigger, the room in his uterus becoming more cramped. The adrenaline that swept through him had them waking up from their nap, moving around. Keith placed his hand on the area he could feel them, more to sooth himself than anything else.

“I don’t understand,” Keith said, deep voice going soft. “We didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You didn’t,” the man confirmed. “My family owns this building, and it’s being condemned and sold. My uncle tried to do what he could to keep it up, but it’s just too much.” His uncle must have been the kind, old landlord. God, was he losing his job and home too?

Keith’s eyes snapped to him, annoyance welling up within him. “So you’re just going to kick us all out onto the streets?”

The man’s eyes narrowed, scent warning Keith that he was an alpha, and he wasn’t going to take any ‘talkback’ from an omega, even if he seemed polite at first. “Someone like you shouldn’t be living in a shithole like this. It’s very irresponsible of your alpha to not have signed a breeding agreement yet. You’d be fine with one of those. Give the notice to your alpha. Perhaps it’ll put things in perspective for them.” He continued on his way, placing notices on the door.

With shaking hands, Keith went back into his apartment and shut the door. Perhaps it was hormones, but he couldn’t keep himself together to stop the tears as he looked at the notice. Jesus, they weren’t giving them much time at all.

He went to their room and curled up in the nest that was there, he needed to call Lance to tell him, because they needed to figure something out. Before that though, he wanted to take a few minutes to himself to get out all the emotions welling within him.

…

Lance felt sick. He really did. It hadn’t even occurred to him that they might lose their little home. It never occurred to him that he’d ever have to move back into his parents’ house while they figured out what to do next.

He loved his parents, he did, and there was nothing wrong with still living together. The problem came from the fact that he thought they had things set up and were independent, and it was like a slap in the face to him. Honestly, he personally felt like a failure.

It wasn’t that his parents weren’t happy to have them. No, his Papá was more than excited, and his Mamá didn’t seem to have any issues with it either. It just wasn’t what he pictured.

The room that they were staying in felt like a guestroom, a temporary place to rest their heads for a few days, even though it was going to be more than that. Sure, they had a kitchen table to eat at now, but their morning routines were completely altered for a few reasons. Lance was farther away from work, they tried to cook for one another only for his parents to shoo them from the kitchen, someone was always in their space interrupting, and so on.

Not to mention his siblings were constantly over. Lance hadn’t realized just how often they visited before now. In fact, Marco barely ever seemed to leave, staying in the other guest room more nights than he didn’t. They didn’t have room to do their own work like they did before, since someone was always there.

Lance loved his family, but he really needed to work on his thesis. He couldn’t focus in their room, so he had to be in the living room, and that seemed to invite people to talk to him. Likewise, Keith had to do his art commission in the kitchen at the table, so someone was always looking over his shoulder. Lance learned fairly quickly that it was something that drove him nuts, and something that made it impossible for him to work.

More often than not, Lance found himself coming home to Keith who was in a bad mood, but trying not to take it out on him since it wasn’t his fault. Lance appreciated that a lot. Sometimes Lance swore that Keith’s abdomen seemed to get bigger during the workday, and in turn that seemed to make his parents hover and practically shove their parenting advice down his throat now that he was always there and really had no where to escape. It wasn’t that Lance didn’t appreciate them, but it was driving him insane. They seemed to forget that he was an adult, treating him like he was a teenager that knocked up his boyfriend, not a mated and married man that wants to have a baby with his husband.

Thankfully, his Abuela tended to back off. She gave advice as well, but it was more about ways to relax and simple things like that. She was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise cramped and coddled existence.

“What are we going to do when the baby gets here?” Keith asked one day, curled up in the nest that didn’t seem to settle or comfort him like it should, hand rubbing his abdomen. The baby might have been moving around inside, but Lance wouldn’t know. He hadn’t felt the movements from outside yet. “Are they staying in this room with us?”

That was something else that had Lance’s mind running a mile a minute. They didn’t have a nursery for their baby. He wasn’t sure the little room that they were staying in could even fit a crib. Maybe if they got rid of the dresser it would, but then what would they do with their clothes? The closet was already full.

Their frustrations came to a head with only a small comment. They were in the kitchen, and Keith put the smallest amount of chocolate sauce on top of his carrots he wanted as a snack. It was harmless.

“That’s not good for the baby,” Mamá said, voice stern. “You should know that.” He went as far as to _take_ it from Keith.

Lance tried to protest, but his mate was absolutely done. He got up, knocking the chair to the floor from how quickly he moved. Keith didn’t bother to try and pick it up, instead storming away and up the stairs.

“Could you _stop_,” Lance snapped at his parents.

“Lance,” his Papá spoke just as sternly. “Don’t disrespect your Mamá. We’re just trying to help you. We’ve had five children and know a thing or two about it.” 

“Right, cause we live under your roof now, and we’re not allowed to be annoyed with you.” He picked up the chair Keith knocked over and left without waiting to hear anything else. Lance was so sick of this.

Keith rounded on him as he entered the room, eyes red-rimmed and scent almost putrid with anger and sadness. “I can’t do this, Lance. I can’t.”

“I know, baby,” Lance agreed, reaching out and drawing him in closer and rubbing his back gently. “I know.”

Keith leaned back and looked up at him. “Go get the papers.”

Lance knew exactly what he was talking about, and he didn’t like it at all. “Keith…”

“We have to,” he insisted, clearly not happy with what he was proposing. “We _need_ to sign a breeding agreement.” Of course, he knew he was right, but Lance didn’t have to like it.

He sighed and rested his head on top of Keith’s, holding him close. “I’ll get them tomorrow, okay?” Keith nodded in response and held him as closely as he could.

Keith shifted slightly, his now rounded belly pressing against Lance’s flat one, reminding exactly why this was something that they had to do whether they liked it or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This super short drabble was brought to you by reality, because this world they're in really, really sucks.


	10. ...With A Helping Hand

Lance stared at the papers in his hands, shaking from sheer rage. Everyone around him skirted away from him, the sour scent of enraged alpha poisoning the air. There was a reason he came to the university library instead of going home to look at the new and up to date breeding agreement that he was preparing to sign. Of course, Keith’s signature _could_ go on it, but it wasn’t required, because of course it wasn’t. That would imply that Keith had some kind of autonomy over himself.

He didn’t want to sign these stupid papers. It was something he never wanted to do, but after some thought and soul searching, he could absolutely understand why some families resorted to it. It was a chance to get out of poverty, and wasn’t giving their children a good life more important than their pride? But then again, it could all be taken away from them at any moment.

When Luis and Lisa signed their breeding agreement, the minimum had been three children. Now it was up to _five_. For all their talk of a big family, that seemed like a lot to Lance, and they wouldn’t be able to adopt or anything like that until fulfilling their agreement. They could lose the children they already had if they couldn’t get up to that many, and Lance didn’t want to have children out of obligation. He wanted to have a few and love them with all of his heart. If it somehow ended up being that many (that was a lot of kids), even if they weren’t planned, he didn’t want them to come into the world and think that they were an obligation.

A groan escaped his lips as he banged his head against the table and kept it there. He hated this so, so much. With how his job worked and with what Keith could legally do, they weren’t going to be leaving his parents’ house anytime soon. The apartment they’d been living in was a steal.

He looked over at his phone, resting beside his head, and bit his lip. There was another idea that came to mind, one he hadn’t talked to Keith about and he really knew that he should. He already knew what his mate’s answer was going to be, but it was actually kind of, well, dumb.

If pride shouldn’t matter in signing their right to decide how many babies they had, then why should it stop them from going to family for help?

…

Keith lounged on the couch in the McClain house, glad to have a moment to himself for once as everyone else was out. He’d been so tired lately, wanting to sleep more than anything else, but unable to get entirely comfortable. He loved his baby girl and was so happy to be able to experience this, but he really wished she’d stop trying to take out his lungs. 

It was so surreal, feelings something move inside of him knowing that it was another human being. It was his human being that he created with his husband, and she was alive and thriving.

It seemed like once Keith noticed her movements, she turned into a lively little thing, twisting and stretching and jumping and kicking. He got a few jabs to his lungs and body that, if she was facing forward, he was sure that he would have seen it from the outside. He couldn’t wait to feel her kicks from the outside properly, since she was at that age where it was common to start feeling them. It seemed like when she was giving her most powerful kicks (they might have to put her in soccer), it was directed as his organs and not outward. His baby was a little jerk already. He loved her to pieces.

Keith spent some time tracing little shapes on his abdomen, and swore that he felt the tiniest of brushes against some of those spots. He liked to think that it was his baby playing with him. He and Lance both spoke to her a lot now, conversing with his rounded stomach as if she could talk back.

There was a knock at the door, and Keith groaned loudly, pushing himself slowly to his feet. He padded his way to the door and stared out the window with sheer confusion.

“Are you going to let me in?” Allura demanded, her hair once again dyed the silvery white she used to do before she became pregnant and let it grow out.

Keith was pretty sure that he was having some pregnancy induced daydream, but still opened the door for her. She came flying in and hugged him tightly, warm and so very real.

“What are you doing here?” he spluttered out, more than confused.

Allura ignored him, taking a step back to look at his abdomen. “Oh, you’re absolutely precious. May I?” She motioned to his stomach.

“Uh, yeah, of course.” Allura let him touch her pregnant belly, so it wasn’t like he was going to say no. She ran her hand over the bump, a huge smile on her face. “What are you doing here?”

She ignored him and looked around, a flurry of excitement. “Isn’t his bump precious?”

Keith followed her gaze, heart leaping when he met Shiro’s watery eyes. He was carrying Haru, who was _so_ big now. Oh wow, he’d be a year old soon.

Allura scooped up her son, allowing Shiro to hug Keith tightly. “I said I wouldn’t cry.”

“No, you’ve been very clear that you were going to tear up no matter what,” Keith replied as he hugged his brother, his own voice thick as he took a step back and motioned for them to come in. “What are you doing here?” Not that he wasn’t so, so glad to see them. Wow, it’d been almost six months since he’d seen them last.

“Perhaps we should sit?” Allura suggested, and Keith led them to the living room.

Maybe at some point of time he stole his little nephew, enthralled to see the baby again. “He’s so big now.” Haru smiled up at him brilliantly, definitely Allura’s smile. Now that he was getting a bit older though, Keith could clearly see that, skin tone aside, he was favouring Shiro in looks. He’d seen his baby pictures, after all.

“Is Lance home yet?” Shiro asked curiously.

“No, he’s not usually home until later.” Keith frowned as he looked up from Haru. “Did he _know_ you were coming?”

“Ah yes, he did,” Allura admitted with a shameless shrug. “Wanted to surprise you. I think he expected to be here before us though.”

Almost as if he was summoned, Lance came flying through the front door, out of air like he’d just sprinted from the car as quickly as he could. Keith raised an eyebrow at the display, and Lance held out his hands dramatically as he took in the scene. “Surprise?”

He rolled his eyes. “Did you even turn the car off?”

“That happened _one_ time, and you were super eager for Hunk’s deluxe slutty brownies so that was your fault.” Lance put his bags on the floor and sat down beside Keith, looking down at Haru. “Hey big guy, how are you?”

“Ah?”

“Yeah? Your mom and dad treating you well?”

“Mama.” Haru looked around at Allura and waved at her. He then looked at Shiro. “Dada.”

“That is so cute, kill me now,” Lance muttered as he slumped down against Keith. If the baby wouldn’t have been on his lap, Lance’s hand probably would have rested against his abdomen. He loved touching the baby bump as much as Keith did.

That was great and all. There was really nothing that warmed him as much as watching Lance with _his_ side of the family (well okay, Lance with kids and puppies did kind of win, but this was a close third), Keith was still dreadfully confused about what was going on. He was glad to see Shiro, Allura, and Haru, but it was an awful long way to come for no reason.

Shiro pursed his lips slightly before admitting, “We were actually hoping you could help us with something.”

“Yes,” Allura added briskly. “See, we’ve decided that it’s simply unacceptable that we’re all so far apart, and visiting costs so much. So we have decided to buy a second house here, and thought it would be a lovely way to spend a few days together.”

Okay, that _did_ add up. Allura was filthy rich and could do that kind of thing. Keith wasn’t stupid though. The timing, and the fact that Lance knew they were coming set alarm bells off in his head as he looked towards his husband. “What did you do?”

Lance smiled at him, a bit of nervousness fliting through his eyes. “Something impulsive and desperate?”

“Lance…”

“I admit, Keith,” Allura spoke up, “I’m a tad offended.”

He was taken back by that. “For _what_?”

“That you’d even _consider_ a _breeding agreement _before coming to us for help.” She spat out the words harshly. “We spend millions every year on others. Why would we not help you?”

Keith held Haru a little closer at the question, feeling his defenses rise up. It was something he asked himself before. He knew Shiro and Allura would help. He did. For some reason though, asking them for help felt more like failure than asking the government. He didn’t quite know how to articular that though, because it was incredibly stupid.

He didn’t want to be a charity case, except that’s exactly what he’d be if they signed an agreement anyway. He didn’t want his pride to come in the way of giving his family their best life possible, but it was entirely the reason he wouldn’t go to his family, would he?

So, so many people suffered at the hands of breeding agreements, but he and Lance didn’t have to. So many others would have died for the opportunity they had. It almost felt like _cheating_. Like getting the easy way out and not having to work and suffer like others did was wrong.

He attempted to voice these thoughts to everyone, but was pretty sure he failed. A part of Keith just wanted to curl up in his nest (he’d be stealing his nephew to cuddle with him, of course, because he was an adorable baby and Keith was going to have his own adorable baby in a few months and he just unashamedly had baby brain at the moment) and sleep.

“Can I speak freely for a moment?” Allura asked him after he finished, and Keith nodded. “So many omegas suffer, and none more than those that are impoverished.” She paused, as if trying to think about how she wanted to word her thoughts. “It makes me so selfishly glad that I have the life I do. I am limited in all the ways all omegas are, but at the same time, I have enough vast wealth and influence behind me that I am certainly overlooked in some cases. The thought of losing that security terrifies me. That is why, while we do donate to many causes, we also take advantage of and keep the wealth that we surely don’t deserve.”

“You also hire omegas, and make sure everyone has at least a living wage,” Keith pointed out weakly.

“And yet it’s not enough, and not what we could do. But I’m selfish Keith. I don’t want to have to suffer like them. It terrifies me. You being out here in that tiny apartment, struggling for money, terrified me. I tried to get Shiro to send you money more than once without your permission.”

“I knew you wouldn’t want that,” Shiro added. “And you were happy at the time. That was really all I could ever ask for. Are you happy now?”

Keith thought on that and looked up at Lance, who’d been oddly silent, staring at him curiously. He leaned onto his mate a little more and felt the baby shift. “With Lance and the baby, yes. With this?” He motioned to the house. “Not at all. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful we had a place to go. I really am. It’s just…” He struggled to articulate again, because so many people didn’t have the fortune of having a place to go when in their situation.

“When we’re here, we’re little kids,” Lance spoke up. “It doesn’t matter how old we are, or if we have our own baby, we’re kids to my parents. They’re going to try and help, but it’s not going to help at all. We won’t be able to raise our baby the way we want to. I mean, my parents raised five awesome kids, no doubting that, and they love their grandchildren, but this is ours, you know?”  
  
“I certainly wanted to punch the people that got pushy with how we raise Haru,” Allura admitted with a small shrug. “Help is one thing, but sometimes trying to help hurts.” 

Shiro nodded his head. “That’s kind of why we’re here. I’m proud of how much you guys tried to do on your own. It’s a bit bullheaded, but that’s just how you are.” He smirked at Keith’s glare. “It was Lance who came up with an idea.”

“I’m sorry for not running it by you first,” Lance said, running his hand up and down Keith’s arm. “It was…actually kind of on impulse after I decided I hated breeding agreements and shredded it at the library. It’s beyond garbage confetti now. I think I broke the shredder shoving the shredded pieces in again just so no one could piece it together again. What I suggested was that maybe we could make a contract with _them_ instead? Agree to pay back little of what we can and stuff?”

“To which I still say absolutely not.” Haru shifted and held his arms out to his mother, who took him gracefully and smiled at him warmly. “The bargain was that we’d be able to stay when we visit, and also we’re getting a bit of a say in the place because, no offense, but you thought that dirty little apartment was fine. And you made it nice on the inside, but it was not fine. Though most of it is up to you, of course. It will primarily be your home. We will be paying cash for whatever place we find.”

This was too much. Keith felt so, so overwhelmed. His brother and sister-in-law were offering to buy them a house. Cash down, no mortgage.

“It’s too much,” he choked out as tears welled up and fell down his cheeks. Damn baby, making him emotional. He loved her, but why did she have to do this to him?

  
“It’s worth it though, isn’t it?” Allura’s eyes fell to his stomach, and Keith put his hand over the bump, feeling the baby twist within him. She really were being active today, wasn’t she? That wasn’t even a fair question. His baby was worth everything. She was worth the breeding agreement (as were her future siblings), she was worth his pride. That simple question was easy to answer.

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah it is.”

…

Lance’s parents were all too happy to babysit little Haru, who positively _thrived_ on the attention they bestowed upon him, all but shrugging off his parents for the promise of cookies and spoiling.

That was how Keith found himself in the back of a very fancy rental car (because Allura insisted that they needed that for what they were doing, not their car for whatever reason), along side his mate, with Shiro driving and Allura twisted around slightly but securely buckled up. She chatted with Lance, talking about things like crown moulding, modern design versus industrial design and things that really went over Keith’s head. He knew they were talking about housing stuff of course, but the speed they were talking about it kind of blew him away.

He met Shiro’s eyes in the rearview mirror, and his brother shook his head, clearly amused.

Keith’s hand rested on his belly, the baby sleeping peacefully now. That was okay though, he’d already felt plenty of movement that was getting stronger and stronger every day. He was sure he’d feel her from the outside any day down as long as she stopped kicking his ribs.

He thought about how he wanted to raise her, what he had back home, and what he wanted to have. He wanted a backyard. He wanted to get a swing set, and from the sounds of it already it seemed that Allura agreed that a pool was a must, especially if they were going to vacation there from time to time. Keith thought about her tastes, and realized that he didn’t want a giant house, though they were bound to end up with something bigger, knowing her.

That might not be bad though. He could picture Shiro and Allura staying with Haru, and his mother and Acxa coming to visit too. It’d be so nice to be able to give however many kids they had their own rooms (if that was at all viable). In a moment of sheer boredom, Keith once read that it was good for couples to have their own space, be it an office, a work shed, or something else. Most of the time it wasn’t really possible, but Allura was loaded so just maybe it would be?

The second he saw the first house, Keith realized that he was going to have to reel Allura in because it was a _mansion_ and they didn’t need that. He’d literally spend all of his time cleaning it simply because by the time he was done it’d be time to start over. Keith and Lance shared their chores, or whoever was available took over and did things (which tended to be Keith more because he worked from home on his own time),

When he voiced this to Allura, she actually laughed at him. “Of course we’ll hire professionals to help keep things clean. Especially if we find a place with a nice guest house. It’s something many omegas have come to do over the years, so of course we’ll give them a living wage.”

“I’m…not so sure I like that idea.” Keith couldn’t imagine that, having always done everything for himself and his family.

She laughed. “It’s not like in shows where people are always there cleaning up after you. Just basic tiding to help. They wouldn’t wait on you hand and foot.” Her smile softened. “And this way, you might be able to help another struggling omega. A job like this might be enough to stop them from signing a breeding agreement.”

And well, when she put it that way, Keith couldn’t help but feel relieved that Lance had gone to Allura and Shiro. It was one thing to save them, but saving others on top of it? That was how he knew they’d made the right decision.

The realtor that was showing them several houses was a peppy young man that didn’t really have much of a scent to him, so either he was wearing strips to hide it to keep clients calm, or he was a beta.

The first house was just too big and too pretentious. The ceilings were so high, and there was a spiralling staircase that Lance was awed over at first because of how it twisted, but very swiftly changed his mind the second Keith took a step onto it, those overprotective alpha instincts kicking in, likely still remembering one of their last days at the apartment where Keith skidded down a couple stairs, staying on his feet oddly enough, before catching himself.

The omega was pretty sure that his husband nearly had a heart attack, proclaiming all stairs to be an enemy. He even got paranoid in his parents’ house. It was both endearing and driving Keith batty. It really depended on how he was feeling.

“We’re going to have stairs in whatever house we get,” Keith pointed out to him as he was ushered back into the car.

“Yeah, but not ones that look like _that_.”

“Right, normal stairs,” Allura said, texting the realtor that was leading them to the next house.

The second house, Keith hated on sight. The pool was huge and beautiful, but there wasn’t really any type of yard to play in. There was a tiny patch of grass off of a huge deck, but that wasn’t good enough for their baby to run around in, or for a dog.

The third one Lance vetoed, even though Keith kind of liked it at first until he pointed out that the neighbours could see into the master bedroom unless the blinds were always closed, which rendered the view there that Keith liked so much useless.

No thanks, he didn’t need anyone peeping on him.

They went to quite a few houses that day, and honestly, Keith was exhausted. Shiro rested a hand on his shoulder and said, “We can stay in the car, if you want.”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t want Lance to agree to buy a house based on a pretty mirror or something.” It might have been a little mean, but, well, he didn’t have an excuse. 

This house wasn’t too bad though. The colour on the outside was ugly as sin, and he wasn’t a huge fan of the colours inside too, but that was cosmetic stuff. The interior itself seemed pretty nice. It was still much bigger than they needed, and of course it came with a goddamn guest house and a pool. It was definitely made for people well, well above their means of living.

At the same time though, there was something more homey about it. Maybe it was the fenced off yard. Maybe it was the beautiful view in the distance. Keith found that he kind of liked it.

Lance seemed pretty enthusiastic about it, independently of Keith’s thoughts. He was talking to the realtor, Allura, and Shiro about different alterations they could make it make it fit them more. It was kind of sweet, really. He rambled on about offices, rooms for kids, a swing set, and a big soaker tub.

Since the house was staged, Keith took a seat on one of the couches, leaning back to close his eyes. That didn’t last long, as his hand jerked just slightly from the impact against it. The impact that came from inside.

He struggled to straightened himself out a little more, catching the attention of the others.

“Is something wrong?” Shiro beat Lance to asking.

“She’s kicking,” Keith breathed out as he felt it again, too in awe to raise his voice. “I can feel it from the outside.”

Lance seemed to teleport over to his side, eagerly leaning close to his stomach. Keith had felt these kicks from the inside for a while now, so he removed his hands and directed Lance’s to the right spot, it took a minute, but Keith knew he felt it when his face lit up.

“Hi there! I was wondering when you’d stop being lazy,” Lance said happily as if he was talking to a child that could actually understand him. “We’re looking at houses for you. You must like this one, huh?”

Keith rolled his eyes, even if it was super sweet. Both the realtor and Allura were smiling broadly, but Shiro’s reaction made him raise an eyebrow. “Are you _crying_?”

“My little brother is having an actual baby, I’m allowed to cry,” Shiro protested stubbornly. It wasn’t like it was a lot, his eyes just teared up a bit.

“What, did you think I shoved a pillow under my shirt?”

“No! Yes! I don’t know!”

Good _god_ his brother was ridiculous. There was a reason Keith adored him.

Lance had a bounce to his step after that. They looked at a few more houses, but Keith couldn’t get that house out of his mind. It was still too big for them and well out of any feasible price range they could ever afford without Shiro and Allura, with a ridiculous guest house, but there was something about it that just seemed right in comparison. It wasn’t too modern, wasn’t too fancy. It felt like it could be a home.

He voiced these thoughts to Lance later on that night when they returned back to the McClain house and into their small, cramped room. Shiro, Allura, and Haru were staying at a hotel for a few days.

“I’m very grateful to your parents for letting us come here,” Keith said to him, laying back in only a loose pair of shorts for pyjamas. Much more than that felt suffocating, and even though he was uncomfortable with the shape of his body from time to time (usually at night), going shirtless was still worth it. “I am. We had somewhere to go and that means a lot. But…”

“I know,” Lance agreed with a nod from where he rested beside Keith, tracing patterns over his belly. “I do know. I am too, and there’s nothing wrong with living with your parents and family, but I do want a place for us to grow together, to raise our baby. I like the idea of a place where people can visit all the time.”

“You realize your brother is going to show up and we’ll never be able to get him out,” Keith pointed out.

Lance groaned at that. “Fucking Marco. Probably.” He went back to tracing patterns. “I think I know which one I liked most, but we could look at more. It’s not like we have to choose in a day.”

“We don’t,” Keith agreed. “But really, they all start to blend together and most of them were just…too much.” He bit his lip. “I really like the one she kicked in.”

The alpha laughed. “That’s the one I like too. What do you think? Should we ask Allura if she wants to get that one as her vacation home?”

The baby kicked again, and Keith chuckled. “I think that’s the one she wants.”

“Well, if that’s the place our princess wants, that’s the place our princess gets,” Lance said with a nod as if that confirmed everything.

Keith felt so warm as he looked down at the alpha, who was cooing at his stomach. He didn’t need a big home. He would have been okay back in their little sketchy apartment. This was going to be a strange move, but if it would give his baby a better life, if it helped others along the way, well, who was he to turn down this opportunity?

Needless to say, Allura was delighted at their choice, and Shiro may or may not have cried again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter: brutal reality  
This chapter: 100% wish-fulfillment. Don't we all wish a rich relative would come out of the blue and save us all. 
> 
> You really didn't think I was going to leave them like that, right? 
> 
> There's lots of fun stuff happening around my instagram lately, and if you haven't checked out my VLD rewrite and you like long stories, it might just be for you! I know rewrites can be boring, but I'm really trying to inject more character insights, thoughts, and some slightly different scenes at this point. It'll slowly branch off more and more!


	11. ...When Moving In

Moving was a chore. Moving into a big house with the help of your astounded family members should have made things easier, but no, of course it didn’t. It was a big place way out of any of their price range, and it was basically being handed to Lance in return for access to the guest house at a moment’s notice.

_So no, Marco, you can’t move in there_. _Why? Because the people who bought the house want to use it!_

The first thing that they did upon getting the keys to their new home was claim the master bedroom, because hell _yes_ Lance wanted that separate en suite and the giant walk-in closet that was essentially another room (Also what the fuck they had a _master bedroom_ now. They were fancy). Not to mention they had their own private _balcony_ with a bitching view of actual trees. There were other houses all around them, of course, but it didn’t feel too cramped thanks to the big yards, trees, and fences. Also the guest house, which was quite a bit smaller, but still a nice house on their property. Honestly, that really seemed more like something _they’d_ be able to live in rather than the big one, but that was okay.

“What are you showing us again?” Pidge asked him curiously as she followed him down the stairs, Matt a few paces behind her.

“Their fancy-ass house,” Matt noted. “Not to pry—but totally to pry—but how are you going to pay the heating bills and stuff?”

“We’ve got a deal with Allura,” Lance answered. “She wouldn’t go any lower than a 20/80 split. But it won’t even be that bad. The tiles on the roof? They’re apparently those super fancy ones that are actually little solar panels and stuff? This house is hooked up to the electrical grid too as a backup, but a lot of the power comes from that.” He paused. “We have to pay our wifi though.”

“Shit, that’s cool!” Pidge perked up, her eyes going wide. “Can we go up to the roof and look at that later? Can I have one of the panels? I know that tech exists but only rich people have access to it and—this is a rich person house now housing two bums. I forgot. This neighbourhood is going to cringe.”

Lance snorted in amusement as he led them into a massive, empty room in the basement, and threw up his hands. “Behold!”

“What is this?” Matt asked slowly.

“This, is going to be our _media room_.” He smirked smugly. “As in giant tv, our consoles, comfy chairs, whatever needs to be here. And we want you two to trick it up for us!”

Both of the Holts stared at him with wide eyes. “Like…we can get anything we want and do anything we want?” Pidge wondered.

“Well, we have a budget for it, because we’re not just getting everything we want despite what Allura says. But as long as you stay inside of it, yeah. Whatever you want. I know you guys will make it cool.”

Pidge practically threw herself at him in a quick hug. “This is going to be _badass_. I’ll never leave this room specifically.”

“Forget Natealie,” Matt added almost dreamily, referring to his girlfriend he’d moved in with a few months ago. “I’ll camp here too.”

The two of them launched into different ideas of what they could do, effectively shunning Lance from the conversation, which was fine because he had a lot let to do. For the most part, the house didn’t actually need a lot of changes, but some rooms were just so empty and needed personal touches.

Lance was kind of spearheading the whole thing. It was complete chaos between furniture. Everything was so new, big, and airy. There were so many windows with so much natural light and there was a pool outside that Lance planned on using every day he could. It was like living in a dream.

Most people didn’t get this lucky. Most people didn’t get the rich relative that swooped in to save them, but damn, they _were_ lucky and he wasn’t going to take that for granted.

_No, Rachel, you and Bella can’t put a spa in the bathroom_.

Though the new colours, furniture and decorations were all new (all of their old stuff from the apartment was being kept in a storage unit for Marco), it still really felt like them the same way their apartment had. Just bigger.

The whole thing had an almost rustic, cottage look do it rather than a super clean, hyper modern look. Well, a fancy cottage or cabin. Everything inside was chosen with comfort in mind. There were none of those stupid, uncomfortable couches and chairs that were set up but never used because they were just for show. You could tell that an Omega had a say, since everything so soft.

It was really starting to look like home and that was crazy to think about. That day, along with Veronica, Lisa, Marco, and his parents helping to paint, some of his coworkers came over to help install the large fish tank that he begged for in the room that was set aside as his own personal office. It was a proper one that would house tropical fish, which Lance full intended on taking care of as if they were his own babies.

That thought brought Lance around to the person who wasn’t bustling around the home, lugging heavy furniture though with his very nice muscles, Keith probably could lift things easier than most of them. The only heavy lifting he needed to do was the baby. 

Lance made his way up the staircase to the second room they had specifically chosen. It was much quieter up there, since the rooms were the first things set up.

Though it wasn’t the biggest of the bedrooms, Keith insisted on the one across the hall from their room for the nursery. He wanted the big window.

Despite Keith’s nesting, he wasn’t overly picky about colour and decorations in the rest of the rooms, but the baby’s room was something else all together. His Papá had tried to weedle out of them whether they wanted pink walls or blue, and he insisted on doing the entire thing himself without showing anyone else.

Lance helped a bit, of course, because he wasn’t going to let his mate, who was nearly 8-months pregnant at this point strain himself. Still, Keith was in charge of that room.

And honestly, who was Lance to argue? Keith was happy when he was busy actually doing something. When he wasn’t, stalked around the house analyzing things critically.

Lance read that pregnant people nested, and more than just in the literal sense, though Keith very quickly established a badass nest in their room. Seriously, it was the most comfortable thing Lance had ever laid in, made specifically to fit to the contours of Keith’s body to keep him as comfortable as possible during the tiring, late stages of pregnancy. That was one kind of nesting, and his mate was content with it. He was not at all content with the layout of the furniture. Lance had switched around the living room twice already, and when he tried to protest the second time, Keith had gotten so angry that he teared up.

His hormones were a vicious thing. Keith normally felt things in a very powerful, real way (to be fair, he did too, their poor baby didn’t stand a chance), and the cocktail of hormones and other chemicals in him created something entirely unpredictable.

Much like in the beginning, Keith was pretty tired most of the time, and found it helped when he could actually do things. With that in mind, Lance took one of the smaller spaces and made him his own art room/office. He kept in mind that there needed to be room for a bassinet or something. Keith still did his commissions, though less than he did before, and he planned on taking a few weeks off when the baby came, but Lance knew he’d be back to work pretty quickly. Even so, Omegas tended to get supremely territorial over their new pups, and usually kept them very close for the first few months.

Lance didn’t want to give him a giant room though, because he knew that Keith was already weirded out by just how big the house was, and would appreciate a little spot to himself.

“My Pa’s house wasn’t small,” Keith admitted, “but it wasn’t anything like this either. It’s just so open.”

Keith knew Lance was making him a little workroom, he’d approved of the room himself and agreed to not look into it until Lance was done with it. That said, he also did want to include Lance with the baby’s room, to a point.

AKA he knew Lance had to see it for the manual labour. Lance felt so loved.

Lance stopped at the door, admiring his mate as he took a deep breath. Keith smells so warm and sweet lately, like honey-baked rolls drizzled in a sweet glaze. It made Lance swoon on a regular basis, and he knew that others were picking up on it too. It was always easy to pick up pheromones from an omega as it was, but a pregnant omega was something else altogether. A happy, pregnant omega was really enough to turn their alpha into a puddle of goo (unless they weren’t a good alpha to their partner, but Lance highly doubted that someone who was an asshole would ever have a mate that was this happy.

It wasn’t just the scent though. Keith was wearing one of his black sleeveless shirts that showed off his toned arms, the fabric tugged taut across his round belly, paired with his stretch black workout pants that he claimed were the comfiest thing in existence and he’d probably live in them if he could (the maternity jeans could go die). His hair was tugged back out of his face into a little ponytail at the top of his head that Lance jokingly put there that morning and he decided to roll with out of spite.

Keith sat comfortably on a rolling chair, shifting himself to finish the mural on the wall. Three of the walls were a nice sky blue, but one of them held a mural that Keith was painting, of tall stocks of beach grass that led to sand, then the ocean and the sky. He was adding on the finishing touches now, and it was gorgeous.

Lance knew Keith was talented, but it always blew his mind to see things like that. He’d been a bit nervous when Keith did the very bottom of it, but the omega simply sat on the floor and scooted around as opposed to bending over.

“I can’t see my feet anymore,” Keith pointed out unhappily. “I know I can’t bend over.”

Despite how small he was for the majority of his pregnancy, his belly still stuck out now that they were speeding towards the endgame. Technically, it was still a small bump compared to some others, something Lance worried about until Dr. Reinhart once again assured him that it was okay, and both Keith and the baby were healthy. He had very little additional weight gain, only a bit on his hips and on his chest. It was something that the omega was very thankful for, because it just looked like he had nice pecs (which he did normally, but pregnancy made them a little more Shiro-esque, so yeah).

Keith was a very masculine man. Sure, he was slender, but he was built like a strong dancer who also happened to do martial arts, and tended to wear clothes that fit him just right. He was the type of person that you’d see with a leather jacket and biker gloves, speeding some fancy beast of a motorcycle around if he could afford one (fancy house aside, they really couldn’t afford one). So it didn’t really surprise Lance that he was a bit insecure about himself, and did what he could to keep himself healthy-looking.

Lisa was almost jealous of the fact that he still looked fit and in shape, just with a baby temporarily stuck onto him. Keith disagreed.

Lance knew how uncomfortable his mate actually was now. Not just mentally, but physically. Between getting kicked out of their apartment, living with his parents, and now moving into a brand new house, there was a lot of stress abound. Not only that, but Keith always seemed tired and sore.

That, or he was horny. Sometimes a combination of everything. Like, the devil’s kind of horny, and Lance was _living_. He couldn’t _wait_ to get everything else set up so that everyone could leave and they could explore every room in the house.

Seriously, happy-Keith smell was amazing, sexy-mood Keith was mind blowing.

Okay, maybe Lance was getting a bit distracted now, but Keith was smoking hot and carrying their baby, and it did things to him. Sure, some people might have thought Keith looked odd, because most omegas in media were portrayed with slender, soft figures, and he was anything but. The juxtaposition of strength and maternity might throw a lot of people off, but Lance thought that was so fucking stupid, because it did things to him. Don’t get him wrong, women were super pretty and awesome, but he realized that there was something nice about having a partner that could probably bench press you. Or could have, at one point.

…He was being really horny on main, wasn’t he? Everyone needed to get out of their house so they could get to work at christening every room possible. 

The omega inhaled as he stretched out, apparently done detailing everything. He froze for a moment before sighing and rolling over to the small table that was set up (one of the tv tables that came from their apartment after they broke the coffee table) to set his things on.

“Done?” Lance asked.

“Just in time too.” Keith said, lulling his head back slightly as he lowered the paper mask from his nose. “You’re starting to stink up everything.”

Oh, he supposed that he was a bit…thirsty. So sue him! He knew what he liked and it was only a few feet away from him. He just shrugged, unable to deny it.

Keith rolled his eyes as he removed the mask entirely (a concession he agreed to, along with an open window), and then held his hands out. “Help me up?” He knew well enough that he couldn’t really get up on his own without struggling. Lance took his hands and Keith looked almost graceful getting to his feet. His husband looked around the room, a pleased smile on his lips. “What do you think?”

Lance rested his chin on Keith’s shoulder, arms going around his waist and resting on his abdomen. He noised at his scent glance gently before turning his attention to the room. “Everything is amazing. Seriously, this is like a dream nursery. Everyone’s going to turn into goo over it. Papá may cry. Want help moving things in?” He knew that nothing was going along the wall in front of the mural, so there was no reason to wait now that Keith was done. Everything was already lovingly assembled, waiting out in the hall.

Keith’s eyes lit up, though if it was because of the compliment or the opportunity to boss Lance around, he couldn’t be sure. Maybe both. Either way, Lance got to work, since it was clear that any other kind of fun was off the table until everyone else went home.

The first thing he brought in was the rocking chair, that had already been set up in the hall. He yanked it in and put it by the window where Keith mentioned wanting it.

The omega was quick to sit, hands resting on his abdomen, rubbing gently the way he did when she kicked a lot.

Lance brought in the crib, dresser, changing table, and everything else one by one.

They hadn’t had a proper baby shower yet, but some how they still were overloaded with gifts. No one knew if the baby was a boy or a girl, so they got a mix of things. That was also how they learned of the bet that was going on between family members (Allura and Shiro were forced to drop out because they let slip that the baby was a girl around them). Which included Pidge, Matt, and even Hunk, though the traitor was out in Vegas with his own mate now.

_“I can’t believe you got married without me there,” Lance complained when he found out._

_ "You got married without me there, and we were in the same city at the time,” Hunk replied dryly. “Besides, Keith’s too far along to fly. Were you going to leave him home?”_

It went unsaid that it was almost irresponsible to leave an omega you were interested in, who wanted to be with you just as much, unmated at this point. Though one trafficking ring was taken down, there were probably many others. Lance couldn’t really blame Hunk for getting married without really any notice (though apparently his parents had known so there was that).

Once he was done moving everything, he helped Keith up again and the omega went to work organizing the blankets, and small decorations around the room while Lance went to scope out how everything else was going. 

As he walked through the hall, he couldn’t help but think about how strange it was that this was their home.

Moving things had calmed his libido, so no one blinked an eye when he made an appearance. His Papá and Abuela took advantage of their fancy kitchen (Hunk was jealous of it too when Lance sent him pictures) to make a feast for everyone that was there. That was absolutely fine by him. He and Keith were both basic cooks so the fanciness of it all was lost on them.

“Can we go into the pool, tio?” Sylvio asked him with wide, excited eyes when he rounded the corner.

“No, not yet. We hired someone to take care of it, so they have to come and check it all.” All of the staff Allura managed to hire (who they approved of) were omegas, or people who beat the system by claiming they needed their omega to work with them, hence giving them their own job. There were plenty of good people out there like that, they were just over shadowed by the louder, nastier ones.

They had someone who would come five days a week to mostly look after the guest house, someone to help out with the main house once a week, someone to help with the yard work, and someone that would help out with the pool. Lance already decided that he would be helping these professionals, and fully intended on teaching any kids they might have how to cook, clean, and do all these chores themselves while appreciating those that helped them. Not everyone got handed the keys to the kingdom, they just got lucky Allura and Shiro were so generous, and he didn’t want his kids to think otherwise.

Keith finally appeared downstairs when food was ready, tucking in with eagerness. Talking to Pidge and Luis. Lance just stared at his husband, who looked so much more alive than when they were stuck in his parents’ house, even more than when they were in their apartment. Keith, he realized, might not like big open rooms all that much, but he also thrived on freedom and not being stuck in one small spot. He loved being able to move around freely, to have his voice heard where it could be.

God, Lance was so, so in love with his husband it was actually ridiculous. Moving was hard, but he made everything worth it by just being so happy. And honestly, Lance got the feeling that it went both ways, if those soft looks Keith sent him said anything.

Keith tried to hide his yawns, but it was obvious that he was exhausted. It was something that everyone else instantly picked up on, because of course he was tired. Growing a brand new person wasn’t easy, and Lance wished that he could take some of that exhaustion and discomfort away.

People didn’t realize how serious pregnancy was. Yes, it was exciting because they were having a baby and it was entirely their choice, but it still didn’t change the fact that it was a _condition_, and it was dangerous for both parent and child involved.

With that in mind, Lance helped usher everyone else out of the door, thanking them for all of their help and inviting them back the next day, because there were still some things that needed to be done.

He sighed and couldn’t help but feel a bit weirded out by how quiet the house was. It was just big and empty, and he wasn’t used to it. They had to leave a TV on the other night, and probably would again.

Keith came up behind him, wrapping his arms around him the best that he could (it was a little awkward), nuzzling at his mating gland.

“Well, hello there.” Lance turned around an grinned at him. “Ready for bed?”

“We can go, but I don’t want to sleep.” Keith eyes fluttered a bit, the intense gaze and the twist to his scent making his intentions well known.

Who was Lance to turn down the love of his life? He eagerly grabbed his hand and headed towards the bedroom. It was going to be a ton of fun exploring their new house in more ways than one.


	12. ...When Nine Months Are Up

It started at about 6:00pm. The pain and discomfort hit Keith quickly when he was sitting in the baby’s room on the rocking chair (okay maybe he was nodding off but he was so pregnant he felt like he was about to explode or form his own gravitational pull so he had an excuse – making a baby was hard work), and left him breathless for a moment. He was cautious, because aches and pains were common for people, and quick flashes could be anything. Of course, the fact that it was centered in his abdomen made it more suspicious. It could have been braxon hicks contractions, but god, Keith hoped it wasn’t. Those sucked and he’d had enough of them. This felt different anyway.

Of course, Keith knew that his baby was coming soon. A couple days ago was when Dr. Reinhart deemed that Keith could go at any time and the baby would be perfectly fine. Already, he lost his mucus plug and the baby had dropped down lower (meaning he could actually breathe again), so yeah, she was definitely coming very soon. So the contractions weren’t a surprise. In fact, they were almost welcomed.  
  
Sure, he was going to face one of the most difficult processes a person with a uterus could go through, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit afraid, but he was more revealed than anything else. Listen, Keith loved his baby, he loved her so fiercely that he knew he’d kill for her, or help her hide a body, without hesitation. That said, he was also tired of the aches and pains.

Keith was glad to have gone through this whole process though. His first pregnancy, years ago, had been ended before he could feel anything but sick and tired (which also could have been made worse from his awful health, trauma, and depression back then), but experiencing this from beginning to end was amazing. He was so, so glad that stupid Omega Flu didn’t take it away from him. They were going to adopt children in the future, that he already knew (they had to fill up their big house somehow), but this was something he _wanted_ to do. Was glad he did despite the aches, pains, and gas that borderlined on severe at times. Pregnancy was _not_ easy. It was a very serious condition that was coming to a head.

That said, he was eager to get her out too. It would be nice for his body to be his own again (as much as it could with an infant that would rely on him for everything). Keith was _so _ready for it to be over.

It didn’t help that Lance was kind of driving him batty. He’d check in every few minutes until Keith growled at him to go and work on his thesis or something like that (he couldn’t neglect that even if he was worried). Keith knew he had a long way to go until it was time to deliver, so there was really no point telling Lance yet. He just might have to kill him. Keith loved and appreciated his husband so, so much. There was nothing better than curling up next to him and taking in his warm, comforting scent. He still might kill him though. Well, no, then he’d have to look after an infant on his own. Never mind, he took that back. Lance could stay.

There would just be no sex for a while! Not that there was going to be anyway. (Lance laughed out loud when Keith’s latest attempt at seduction summed up as ‘it’ll help induce labour and free me’, but sue him, he felt fat and gross, but was still a horny mess until like, that day.)

So he silently endured the contractions, finding it more like a cramping pressure than just sheer pain for now. Though he didn’t say anything, Keith got the distinct feeling that Lance knew. His scent was probably different, though how, Keith didn’t know. He knew they tended to sour with worry and pain, and he was both a bit worried and in a bit of pain, but he was also excited and eager for this to be over.

The alpha would come up behind him from time to time and rub his back, which was so, so soothing. He’d nuzzle and scent him comfortingly, but wasn’t overbearing around him. Bless him. Keith should have given him more credit.

When they were laying in their bed later on that night, Keith tiredly muttered to him, “I’m in labour.”  
  
“I thought so,” Lance admitted. “I’ve been going a bit crazy for a while, but trying to keep it cool around you.” His eyes turned to the clock on his phone. “How long has it been? Five hours?”

“Give or take.” Keith grunted a bit as another contraction struck his pelvis. Good god, it was painful, and he knew it was only going to get worse. He relaxed once it was over, Lance soothing him again. He took deep breaths after, shaking his head as if to clear it. “Can you get some towels?” He knew that his water was going to break while he was lying in bed, and he’d rather not have their new mattress get messed up with that. “Maybe one of the heatshield sheets?”

Lance helped him up out of bed and quickly puttered around to do as he asked. It made Keith’s heart flutter. Once everything was set, Keith snuggled back into the warm, soft array of sheets (now with waterproofing so he wouldn’t mess the mattress) that were added into the nest that was made up of their entire bed. Sheets hung up around it like a large, airy pillow fort, small scarves of his family and pack twisted around the raised edges. Lance joined him after getting ready for bed, and not-so-subtly looking over their go-bags and setting out an extra set of clothes for them. That was nice. Keith didn’t want to waste time looking for his comfy leggings after his water broke (or his contractions got really close). There was no point staying in day clothes either since labour could last a long, long time according to Dr. Reinhart.

At about 1:00 in the morning, Keith jolted up with a powerful contraction. Lance was up with him instantly (he probably hadn’t slept at all, while Keith took every opportunity he could to nap between contractions). He breathed heavily after it was over, slumping back down. A moment later, he felt liquid pooling around his groin, and groaned as he sat up, wanting to make sure it was actually his water breaking and not blood.

His thoughts spiralled for a moment, because if there was that much blood, that was bad, really bad. He was almost soothed when he saw that it wasn’t.

Lance, of course, had launched himself out of the bed the second that he realized what was going on. He speedily got his own clothes on before helping Keith get up and change.

“Our baby’s coming,” Lance said in awe as they got into their car.

“Did you arm the security system?” Keith asked him, a bit distracted. Lance stared at him as if he was crazy, and Keith raised an eyebrow back. He didn’t want someone to break into their overly expensive house.

Lance groaned and stumbled out of the car, running back to check. After he was sure that they had everything and the security system was active, they were off.

If there was one good thing about the alphas in power seeing omegas as only breeders, it was that maternal wings of hospitals were top notch and well-staffed. They were designed to make childbirth go as smoothly as possible (Keith’s skeptical mind reminded him that it was probably so they could do their best to make sure that someone wasn’t permanently hurt during childbirth, both so they could take care of their child and have more). Not to mention it was free (most things were not in the US).

Upon arrival, Lance was immediately given pillows and blankets to scent. Those were the ones that Keith found himself propped up on. If his bed at home weren’t so damn comfortable, he’d probably be purring at the moment. He did purr when Lance got back from signing papers, sitting beside Keith on the bed and running his hand through his hair. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired.”

“Get some rest while you can.”

That was easier said than one. His contractions were closer than before, and they were becoming more and more agonizing (if that were at all possible).

Their birth plan was simple. Keith wanted to get the good drugs in his system to make it go as smooth as possible (he could handle pain, but if he could just not for a bit, that’d be awesome).

He reiterated this to a nurse, who laughed amicably. “Dr. Reinhart will be in to check on you soon, sweetie. Once we get the go-ahead we’ll give you the good stuff. Can’t have it too early, or it’ll wear off too early.”

Yeah, he didn’t want that. When Dr. Reinhart did show up, she had the unfortunate news that it was going to be a while before he actually gave birth, so it was time to buckle down and wait.

It sucked.

“I want to call my mom,” Keith said after a while. It was late in Nevada too, but she was always a night owl too.

“I thought we were waiting.” That was part of their birthing plan too. They looked at all the research and came to the mutual conclusion that it was actually better for people to wait to visit a newborn pup. It gave the time for parents to bond with their new child, for the mother to deal, eat, and get some sleep before dealing with others.

“My Papá will try to steal her and never give her back before I can hold her,” Lance joked a couple days ago. Keith knew it was a joke, but the thought of another alpha (or person in general) coming in and taking his new baby kind of made him lose his mind a bit. 

There was also the fact that omega mothers, both male and female, were notorious protective of their newborns, more-so even than betas, who weren’t to be trifled with either. Dr. Reinhart told Keith that he would likely growl at them, at her, when they cleaned the baby and such or got too close, but not to worry. It was normal. It also wouldn’t startle the baby since most of the time it also involved those protective pheromones that soothed them (they didn’t know what danger was yet, after all).

Of course they were still going to invite Lance’s parents and grandmother before anyone else, they just didn’t want a giant crowd passing their new baby around.

“I know we were,” Keith said with a grunt. “But I just…it’s not like she’s going to be here in the morning or anything.”

Lance nodded his head in agreement and fished out Keith’s cellphone, offering it to him. He quietly excused himself to get some more ice chips, which really sounded fantastic.

“Keith? Are you okay?” his mother answered after a single ring, sounding wide awake. Of course, he was calling her in the middle of night, she would know something was up.

“I’m in labour,” he replied shakily. God, he wished that she was there with him right now. It was such a strong emotion that he couldn’t help but repeat the thought to her.

“I wish I was there too,” she replied. “How are you feeling? Did your water break?”

“Like something is slowly clawing it’s way out of me.” Keith knew that wasn’t how it worked, but damn if it didn’t feel like it. He wasn’t even far enough along to get an epidural yet. “Yeah, water broke, but it’s still going to be a while Contractions are pretty far apart.” Almost as if to spite him, a powerful contraction hit him, and he leaned forward, groaning loudly. He needed to get his hair out of his eyes or he was going to tear it off.

“That sounded like a good one,” Krolia said, having been silent the entire time. “Is Lance there with you?”

“He went to get me ice.” Keith paused. “I’m scared.” And he was. Though he was in a state of the art hospital, with a caregiver that he did trust and another one ready to help out in any other way (Dr. Tsai was always ready to help as their family doctor, especially since he was a victim of the Omega Flu), Keith knew that things could go wrong.

He knew that, though he seemed healthy, anything could happen. “Mom, if something goes wrong, tell Lance to pick the baby over me. I know he’ll call you. Please tell him.”

“Do you have any reason to think that something will go wrong?” she asked seriously.

“No.” Outside of general childbirth being a wild ride.

“Then you will be fine. Focus on that. Think, you’re going to get to hold your baby in your arms soon. Lance will be able to hold them in his arms.”

That thought made Keith almost melt. He could already picture his alpha with their pup. God, their baby was going to be so, so loved. She already was.

Yeah, despite the fear, he was already to meet her.

…

The epidural finally came at about three in the morning, and Keith felt great. He was still aware of his contractions, there was still pressure, but things were just great. He progressed steadily, completely awake and aware the entire time, even as it was time to start pushing. Bless modern medicine. The pressure was still there, he could still move and push, but the pain was minimal compared to what he was experiencing before getting it.

Mothers who went through completely natural childbirth were badasses. Or a bit insane. Maybe both. Both was absolutely fine.

It was 7:42 in the morning, after over 13 hours of labour (which wasn’t bad compared to what some people went through but was still 13 hours of pain and pressure), when Keith finally gave birth to their daughter. She had a powerful set of lungs on her as she voiced her displeasure at leaving the home she’d known for the past nine months. She was covered in goop, her skin was a tad patchy where it wasn’t red from screaming, and her face was scrunched up, but she was the single most beautiful thing Keith had ever seen.

The second that she was placed in his arms, he started to cry. Not even just tearing up, but full-on sobbing as he held her close, the tears mixing with the beads of sweat that slid down his face. Lance pressed against his shoulder, running a hand through his tied-up, messy hair. “Keith,” he breathed out in awe. “Holy shit, look at her. She’s beautiful.” He pressed his lips against the side of Keith’s head as he gently brushed a finger against her chubby cheek. “Hi baby girl. Hi.”

The new parents were in awe of their child, basking in her presence as she calmed down. She nuzzled her face closer to Keith, no doubt seeking out his scent. Her perfect bow lips opened and closed on nothing.

Keith nuzzled her gently, mindful of just how delicate she was. Lance’s arm went around his shoulders as he cooed at her.

Like Dr. Reinhart warned, Keith growled at the doctors that came to clean and make sure that the baby was okay. He only relented his hold on her when Lance promised that he’d stay with her too. That, and he had to pass the afterbirth and get taken care of himself.

By the time all of that was over, Keith was beyond exhausted, and he was starved. Lance came back with their baby in his arms, so in awe that it made Keith preen a bit. His alpha loved their pup, and she was clearly in very good health. It was everything important in the world.

Keith purred as his daughter was placed back in his arms. He held her close as they moved him from the birthing rooms back to the one he would be staying in for a couple days.

“You should feed her,” one of the nurses told him once they were situated. At Keith’s nod, the nurse showed him how to properly position and hold her comfortably. He gasped at just how odd it felt, but it didn’t feel wrong.

“How are you feeling?” Lance asked, running a gentle finger over the baby’s back as she drank.

“Happy, tired, hungry.” Keith struggled to tear his gaze from their daughter. “She looks like you.”

“Nah.” Lance shook his head. “Might have my complexion, but she definitely looks more like you. I’ve seen the baby pictures.”

She became a little fussy, so Keith took her away just like the nurse told him to, gently rubbing her back to burp her. It was the tiniest sound that made his heart swell as he shifted her back. Her little eyes were cracked open, staring back up at him, and he felt like his heart was going to explode. He would do anything for his little girl.

“She needs a name,” Lance noted as he sat beside Keith on the bed. “I’ll have to fill out the paperwork when the results come back.” The results on whether she was a beta or an omega. Keith wasn’t so eager to put a label on her so early, but it didn’t matter. He’d raise her to be strong, fierce, independent, but kind.

Lips tilting up at the corners, he looked up through his messy bangs at Lance and said, “She has one. Her name is Kryptid. I told you that.” He had to stop himself from laughing as Lance’s skin paled. He’d been saying that ever since Pidge brought it up.

“I will get on my knees and beg,” Lance pleaded, which was kind of funny, because he was the one that was signing the papers and could decide to put in another name, no matter what Keith said. They’d spoken at lengths about it, but ultimately, Keith got the final say.

He could only keep up the charade so long. He laughed, light and joyfully, careful not to jostle the baby. “Karina.”

Lance’s face lit up. He was the one that suggested the name in the first place, and looking at their baby now, it just felt right. Maybe she would want to change her name, pick a new one when she was older, but for right now, it was right.

“My baby Karina,” Lance sighed happily. He nuzzled Keith gently. “Want to get some rest?”

“I’m actually more hungry than tired,” Keith admitted. Lance practically launched himself out of the bed in a quest to go and get Keith some food.

Honestly, he was exhausted too, but every moment with his baby was precious. That and he wanted some food.

It was hard to believe that she was finally here, and not inside of him anymore. He didn’t regret having her for a second, which was so mind boggling. Keith of two years ago would never have been able to picture holding his own newborn and feeling so happy about it.

Keith pressed his lips to her little forehead gently. “Don’t worry, baby girl. Everything will be okay. You’ll never have to deal with all the crap I have if you’re an omega. Am I allowed to say crap? Don’t tell your Papi. But I’ll do it too if you’re a beta. I’ll find some way. Even if it means helping Pidge and Veronica tear down the world.” And he would. Things wouldn’t change soon enough to benefit him, but maybe they could try to do something for the next generation. For people like his precious little girl.

Lance came back with a couple chicken salad sandwiches, insisting that he eat both when he saw just how hungry Keith was. As Keith ate, he rocked Karina, whispering to her and looking at her as if she was the world.

“I’m going to call my Papá,” Lance said, turning his eyes up to Keith. “Tell her that they can come over after you’ve had some rest. That’s okay, right?”

Keith nodded his head, the exhaustion hitting him hard now that he was full. He watched as Lance carefully put the baby in the attachment on his bed designed to keep pups in arms reach, but away from all the blankets. He shifted a bit to get comfortable, ignoring the deep aches in his lower body. The last thing he saw before he nodded off was his husband gently kissing their little baby’s forehead. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone's doing well! To all the people that are considered necessary workers, I hope that you remain safe and healthy. To everyone else, help them out and stay in your homes. 
> 
> Anyway, in regards to the story, this is the first part of this 'arc' I suppose. It was designed to be a series of oneshots but there's very clearly a narrative. It's going to start getting a little more episodic again. Skipping over moments, possibly even going backwards and forwards in time.
> 
> Here's something I'm wondering for the people who actually read the author's notes. What other kind of story would you like to see? Any of my oneshots I should look into expanding on? Any other ABO ideas? Still working on my big rewrite, albeit, very slowly. Let me know! I have...a lot of free time on my hands.
> 
> Well, I've been busy with my pins and zines, but I'd love to write more too!


	13. ...In A Video Reveal

Pidge stared at the phone in her hand, brows furrowed as she fiddled with the settings of the program that she was on, and then she waited.

She twitched a bit as people moved around her in the waiting room, a place she didn’t have to be since she was welcomed in the room she was about to go to, but this had to be perfect. It was a very big announcement after all. She’d put years of hard work into the Pigeon Files, and after sporadic updates over the past year that had many followers worrying, it was finally time to talk about their new direction, though she didn’t intend this little livestream to last too long. There was an end goal in mind.

It was finally time to come clean about things that others were speculating about.

A message from Matt popped up, saying that things were ready to go. He would be monitoring the live chat, even though she’d be able to see it herself on her phone. The program that she designed let her see the comments as well as her own image, but it was better for someone to just be paying attention to that. Hunk was doing them a solid and was in the chat too.

She pressed the button and started walking.

“Hey guys, Pidge here with this live vlog episode of the Pigeon Files. Today we’re going to answer some of the very important questions you’ve been asking, including about what’s been going on with the channel, as well as with us. We’ve also got a surprise for the end of the show.” Pidge lowered her voice and looked around like she was sharing a secret. “We’ve got footage of a brand new crypid to show you all.”

She answered a few things that Matt made pop up on her screen as she walked through the clean halls of the hospital, expertly avoiding running into anyone.

After a riveting debate about the current status of the Stink Ape, she looked down at the questions in the chat and laughed, “Yes, I have an update on our resident cryptid’s whereabouts too. You guys don’t have to keep playing ‘Where’s Keith’ and trying to find glimpses of him in all our videos.” She paused. “Yes nuttycakes438, he was recording when I shot the video on how to measure footprints properly. I can’t believe you realized that because you saw him in a reflection for two seconds.”

Both she and Keith had been wary about investigations and showing so much of their lives in public after they were both infected with the Omega Flu. Something she was still positive was on purpose. Then he went and got knocked up, and realized that his time of picking up baby alligators had come to an end. He was responsible and took his health very seriously while he carried his and Lance’s baby.

It made Pidge come to the conclusion that her channel needed a few changes, and after many discussions, they finally came up with an idea she was very eager to share. The explanation for the change would require a little honest, but that was okay.

“Alright, so you noticed how we haven’t really don’t much lately for investigations, well, there is a reason for that.” She braced herself. “We’ve decided that we’re going to halt our live investigations for the time being. I promise, there’s a good reason.” She paused for a moment as she walked. “As you guys know the show stopped for a while. Lots of speculation about that. The truth is the ghost tour was shot. We couldn’t use the footage for a while since the police had it. It was speculated that the woman we captured in it was purposefully spreading the Omega Flu.” She bit her lip nervously. “I know there’s been a lot of speculation, but there you have it. I was infected. So there you have it. I’m an Omega.” It was something she had to her chest for a very long time, and instantly some of the comments made her remember why, but Matt and Hunk were both on them very quickly.

“Current political climates have made it very unsafe to continue doing what we were, so after a lot of thought and speculation, we’ve decided that we’re going to start working on something really cool: animation and narration. We’re working really hard behind the scenes to make that happen. And yes, for you voice-horny people out there, Keith will be taking part in that too.”

She snorted with amusement as she walked through the hospital halls at the comments. “Thirsty demons, all of you.”

“Who’s a thirsty demon?” She looked up as Lance approached, leaning over her shoulder to look at the camera. He grinned and finger gunned at it, getting an amusing response. Lance had appeared on her channel before, but it’d been a long time.

“All of them. They like Keith’s voice and watching his butt.” Lance snorted as she pushed him aside slightly. “Which isn’t cool. Let me tell you why. You know my buddy here is Lance, almost Marine Biologist who disagrees with me about Nessie—”

“There’s no way a marine animal of that size is live in that loch.”

“—McClain. Lance McClain everyone.” Just like Pidge predicted, the chat went wild with people pointing out that Keith’s last name was McClain too.

Lance read a few of them over her shoulder. “Uh, no, excuse you guys. I didn’t take Keith’s name. He took mine.” He held his hand up, showing off the ring. “I put a ring on it before you guys met him. I win.”

There was all the surprise that Keith had been married this entire time. Honestly, a few eagle-eyed people picked out the fact that he had a wedding ring generally under his gloves (so it wouldn’t get dirty or ruined), but not many believed it because what kind of married person picked up possums and named them Joe (since those things were somehow mutually exclusive).

“No guys, don’t tell Lance’s he’s hot,” Pidge blurted out when she saw a few of the comments. “If his ego gets any bigger it’ll form it’s own gravitational pull.”

“Too late, they think Keith and I are too beautiful to be allowed to be a couple,” Lance said, quite happily, because of course he was. “Speaking of, you ready?”

Pidge nodded her head. “Yeah.” This update wasn’t supposed to be a long one, just a few small things to catch everyone up. And you guys have been wondering about Keith, and the truth is, he’s the one that brought this new cryptid to us.” She glanced up at Lance again, who nodded, and then pushed open the door the hospital room.

Keith was leaning back in his bed, surrounded by massive, puffy pillows that definitely came from home for his short stay in the hospital. He had one of his wide-collared, black shirts on and a pair of lose pants, his belly not nearly as big or solid as it was the last time she’d seen him.

  
Now, Pidge liked to make fun of Keith and Lance for being mushy around one another, but she’d never once seen him look at something so softly as he was the little bundle in his arm. His indigo gaze turned up towards her, lips tilting up into a warm smile when he saw her.

“You good?” she asked, motioning to the camera. The viewers were getting anxious.

“Yeah,” he answered, and his voice alone was enough to make people start typing his name in the chat.

“Alright.” Pidge looked at the camera again. “So very recently a new cryptid was discovered. A crypt-kid, as you could say.” She pressed the button to activate the back camera instead, revealing Keith holding his newborn in his arms. “Meet little Kryptid, spelled with a K.”

“That’s her legal name,” Keith agreed, lips turning up into a smirk. “I wrote it myself.”

“No it’s not,” Lance shot back, sounding almost distressed.

Keith’s lips tilted up smugly. “You were too busy gushing over the baby to notice. Go check.”

“It better _not_ be her legal name I swear…” Pidge cackled as Lance actually left the room and then looked down at the chat. It was going absolutely wild.

“It’s not,” Keith said as he looked to the camera again. “I’ve been telling him that’s what we’re calling her for months now.”

Pidge flipped the camera back around to face her as she moved over by Keith, sitting on the edge of the bed so that they were both in the frame. She shifted it back just a little farther away from them so that the top of the baby’s head was in view. She wasn’t staring at the camera though, her face turned towards Keith’s shirt. That was just as well, since Pidge hadn’t even seen her properly yet. “So yes, now you know why Keith hasn’t been climbing trees after animals in a while. Being a loser that’s too busy bringing a new cryptid into the world.”

He snorted in pure amusement. “Right, sorry. Next time I’ll be sure to scale walls with a giant belly.”

“Next time, like you didn’t just shove an entire other person out.” Pidge shook her head and turned her attention towards the chat. “Anyway, now you guys see why we need a new direction for the channel. Keith’s been working on artwork, and I’ve been doing scripts. We’re going to be recording soon, so watch out for our awesome new videos coming up.”

Keith looked at the phone nodded. “Yeah. I had a lot of fun going exploring different places with Pidge, and sometimes Matt. Talking theories, making art, and interacting with all of you has been awesome. But when I contracted Omega Flu, I realized that I wanted more things in my life. We talk a lot about choice on the show.” He turned his eyes to the baby in his arms as she shifted, a tiny sound escaping her little lips. “She was completely my choice, and I’d make that choice again without hesitation.” His voice was firm and unwavering, and Pidge realized that it was absolutely true.

She still struggled with the idea a bit, that someone who agreed with her stance on omegas in the world went ahead and did what omegas were expected to do. She had absolutely no desire to be a mother herself, so it was hard to understand why someone else might, she just knew that Keith did.

Comments flooded in congratulating Keith (along with some derogatory things that they’d been expecting when they agreed to shoot this). He read a few of them and practically preened. “Yes, she is the cutest, but no, I’m not going to be telling you guys her name.” He raised an eyebrow. “So yes, I am an omega, and this is my new little cryptid.”

Pidge answered a few more questions before signing off. She took a deep breath, unable to believe that she put everything out there. She played her dynamic so close to her chest for so long, but really did want to put it out there too so she could prove that she wasn’t just _talking_ about omega rights. That she actually understood.

“That was a lot of people saying they knew I was an omega because of my ass,” Keith noted, drawing her out of her thoughts. He shifted Karina in his arms, and Pidge leaned a little closer to look at her. The baby’s skin was a tiny bit blotchy at the moment, but still dark like Lance’s. Her hair was surprisingly thick for a newborn, and the same jet black as Keith’s. She still had that newborn look to her where her face was a little scrunched up and puffy. Honestly, Pidge thought that newborn babies were a bit ugly. That said, there was still something so sweet about this little pup. Probably because she was her friends’.

“Ignore those people, it doesn’t matter. They don’t matter.” Her eyes turned up to him. “How are you feeling anyway?”

“I’m still hurting like a bitch, but I get to go home later, so there’s that. My mom’s already here, and she’s going to be staying with us for a bit to help out.” He leaned back against the pillows, smiling warmly at his little baby. “Pidge, I don’t think I’ve ever loved something so much in my life.” His voice was thick with emotion. “It’s almost like I’m holding my entire heart in my hands.” Oh shit, he actually had tears in his eyes.

Now, Pidge knew for a fact that those people who said all omegas had the ability to comfort others by pure instinct, but she didn’t know what to do so that was far from true. Especially because Keith wasn’t actually upset. Just overwhelmed if she had to guess. Damn, post-partum hormones had to be killer.

“So, you’re happy?”

He positively beamed. “Yeah. I’m happy.” The baby fussed a little bit in his arms. “Hey. Want to see your auntie Pidge?”

Auntie Pidge. Oh hell, she didn’t want to admit but that made something within her well up. Keith shifted a little more on the bed, motioning for her to sit properly beside him. It took her a moment to realize that he was putting the baby into her arms.

  
“Uh, I don’t think—”

  
“Just support her head. I trust you.” He helped her arrange her arms properly, and Pidge found herself cradling the tiny girl.

She was so light, and so fragile that it made her scared to hurt the baby. Her little eyes cracked open just a tiny bit, and only for a second, but damn, in that moment Pidge knew she’d do anything for this little girl. Forget Acxa, Rachel, or Veronica, _she_ was going to be the favourite aunt.

It wasn’t like the spell of motherhood suddenly fell over her or anything, Pidge still had no desire to have a child of her own, but this little pup was real and already there. If that’s what she felt like, Pidge couldn’t at all imagine what Keith and Lance felt like.

Karina suddenly let out an unhappy squawk, causing her to tense. Keith chuckled and took his baby back in his arms, rocking her with such a tender look on his face that it almost made Pidge want to cry.

Maybe, just maybe, this new part of all their lives wouldn’t be bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A teeny little update, since the idea popped into my mind!


	14. ...During A Graduation

Graduations, though a time to celebrate the hard work and success of the graduates, were boring. Lance wasn’t trying to belittle anyone’s work, not even his own and he was always down for a self-pity party, but they were dull. He’d been to _so_ many of them. He’d been to pretty much _all_ of the high school ones for his siblings and cousins, and a bunch of university ones (thankfully only so many could go to those). Not to mention he graduated twice before, and now he was doing it again.

That said, knowing that all of those nights slaving away over data, forming his thesis, working with animals, doing a lot of grunt work, his expedition (not to mention leaving his mate—his pregnant mate—for two months), was finally paying off still made him excited. Lance was a little bit mind-blown really. It didn’t feel real that it was all over and he had his Masters.

Mind you, it wasn’t like Lance would ever stop researching and learning. That was part of what he did. Luck was on his side, and he already had a full-time, paid job lined up where he had interned at. Keith liked to say it wasn’t luck, since there were other interns that weren’t offered a position after graduation, but rather his hard work and dedication. His mate believed in him so much that it almost drove him to tears.

Lance liked to think that he worked hard for everything that he got, but it seemed like that period of time where he was numb and felt like everything was pointless and he didn’t really do too much, was what others defined him by. That, and the fact that he was youngest one in the program. Keith insisted that he was one of the most successful ones as well, and when he looked at his job and grants and everything that he had done, Lance couldn’t help but believe him. He wanted to.

In the future, he’d probably go for his doctorate in Marine Biology, but there was so much happening in life right now, and his job was secure. He wanted to take a break from books and just live for a little while.

Not to mention he wanted to get away from the pettiness that managed to stalk him through his graduate program.

The thing about alphas were that they were a competitive bunch. It was hard to generalize, but ramped up pheromones of multiple alphas technically competing for the same positions usually put them all on edge. Of course, not all students were alphas, it just happened that in Lance’s program, most of them were.

Alphas in general were a petty bunch to begin with. Lance did lump himself in with that from time to time, because he wasn’t always a gracious loser, but it was something he acknowledged and tried hard to work on, which was way better than letting small slights become a big thing. Lance liked to think that he had grown, especially after becoming a husband and then a father.

He especially didn’t like to scoff at something that didn’t conform to expectations.

Those scoffs were another thing he’d be glad to leave behind, for the most part.

Lance never thought himself a territorial person, but he was an alpha, even if he was an atypical one at best since he didn’t go around purposefully stinking up a place with his scent, and using his voice on others to get what he wanted. That said, more often than not lately, his metaphorical hackles would rise with ease when people spoke in derogatory ways about omegas, or when they pried a little too much in his own life.

_“It’s normal, mijo,” his Papá told him with a laugh. “You have a baby at home now. There is no shame in feeling your own, natural instincts so long as you control it and don’t let it bring harm to others. Keith is strong, stronger than many alphas, but you can still feel protective. Not to mention you want to defend him since you know what he’s capable of, and Karina is an omega too.”_

Lots of people saw him as an atypical alpha as it was. Yeah, he’d been working hard on his physique because he found he liked behind active, and maybe he liked the way his husband subtly swooned over it even if he’d deny it (Keith wasn’t exactly a light man with how muscular and in-shape he was despite his slight frame, since he’d never be big like Hunk or Shiro, and Lance being able to lift him clear did things to him). So that kind of lined up with what an alpha was “supposed” to be. Everything else was all over the place though.

People used to _assume_ things about him when he hooked up with, and dated, other alphas in the past. Yes, it was a much more common thing those days, many seeing it as just taking two more opponents out of the ring when it came to finding an omega mate, but many still did frown on it. Many assumed it was wrong. Many assumed that it was the reason he got into the program so young.

_“Whose dick did you have to suck to get that internship at the rescue center?” One of his classmates asked him at the time, because apparently that was how certain people, a lot of people, saw him. _

He was young, energetic, and a bit flirty even if he wasn’t trying to be (he was a one man, man, thank you very much). People seemed to take that in combination with his success to mean that he was basically selling himself off for it.

_“You’d be an awful prostitute,” Keith concluded, though this was after he calmed down from wanting to go and punch the people that said things like that about Lance. _

_“Uh, excuse you! I’m amazing at seducing your ass.” _

_Keith rolled his eyes. “You’d probably try to figure out their inner demons or something, try to find a way to help them, and then forget to get your money or end up paying them because you’re that kind of good person.” _

And shit, how does one argue with their spouse when their argument is that they’re a good person? That’s a question Lance would really like to know. Keith won far too many arguments and debates that way.

It wasn’t like _everyone_ thought that he was a pathetic alpha that only managed to be successful by sleeping around (which he did not, thanks). No, it was actually only a couple, but those people were the vocal type that made him a bit miserable. Not enough to be depressed, or quit the program or something to that extreme, but it was annoying. They were supposed to be _adults_, and he was the youngest. Age clearly didn’t always equal to maturity.

In fact, when he mentioned that he had a mate during a group meeting at one point, most of them were happy (both alphas and betas) and congratulated him. The ones that didn’t believe that he had a mate (despite the fact that he had the bond mark, the scent, and the ring to prove it) just scowled.

What got Lance through those times was a fact that he’d only picked up in the last year or so. He didn’t have anything to prove to any of them or anyone else. He knew who he was. He was a good alpha, and he knew he was because his husband thought he was, so did his siblings, his niblings, his parents, his in-laws, his co-workers, and most of the other students he was graduating with, so yeah.

Not only that, but why should he act a certain way? He’d met so many different kinds of alphas, betas, and omegas, that he was sure most stereotypes came from a very small, but very vocal, population that wanted things their way and had the power to do that.

Lance didn’t keep his omega on a short leash. He didn’t demand Keith spend his days cooking and cleaning for him. He treated his husband as his partner, his equal. Who gave a shit if he was an omega? Yeah, he could get pregnant, had heats, and smelled amazing like baked honey rolls. So what? Lance was actually pretty vocal about his mate and how they treated one another, which is really what made those assholes raise their eyebrows.

Lance almost lost his shit at them one time when those skeptical alphas started asking about their sex life (no doubt in an attempt to prove that he didn’t have mate) and seemed offended when he wouldn’t answer, because it was none of their business.

Like, don’t get him wrong, Lance _loved_ sex. It was awesome, and he was open to all kinds of things, as was Keith, so long as it was within their set boundaries. Like, sometimes it was nice to just lay back and enjoy things, let Keith do whatever he wanted. It let his inner laziness thrive and was a ton of fun. They never quite knew how things were going to go unless it was something planned out beforehand. Well, except for during heats. But despite all that, it wasn’t like it defined what their relationship was.

If Lance had to pick a moment that defined their relationship, it was probably setting up their swing-set in their backyard. It started off difficult and chaotic, and at times there was arguing and disagreements and misunderstandings, but in the end they were able to work together, to collaborate, to make something fun. That was him and Keith. That and the fact that, since Karina was too little to sit on the swing set alone, they would squabble over who got to be the one to swing with her and who was pushing. They ended up taking turns, because that was them too.

Graduations might have been dull, especially since he already had his diploma, but at least Lance knew that it meant he wouldn’t have to see these assholes as much. Sure, many of his co-workers were more ‘traditional minded’ alphas, but none of them treated him like he was an idiot, like he was less of an alpha (even if a few raised eyebrows at some things but were smart enough to just roll with it), or that he didn’t deserve to be there.

He only had to get through the boring-ass graduation ceremony. Why had he come to this again?  
  
Oh right, he was a social creature, and part of him did like the cheers for him. It reminded him that, despite all the struggles, so many people were here for him. He couldn’t actually see his family in the sea of people, but he certainly heard them. McClains were a loud and proud bunch, even though only a handful of them could actually attend the graduation itself.

After the fact, while they were mingling, taking pictures, and waiting for their families, a few people he unfortunately recognized came up to him. “So McClain, heard you got a full-time job at the aquarium?”

Lance wanted to correct them, because where he worked wasn’t an aquarium and they knew that. Yes, sure, people could come in and look at the animals, and they had little penguin parades (only when they wanted to…so it was a no go if the animals didn’t want the exercise) and let them watch while they played with their dolphins that couldn’t go back out into the wild due to injuries and such, but they were a _rescue and research center.  
_  
He just didn’t want to be compared to somewhere like _SeaWorld_.

Instead of saying that, he held his head high. “That’s right. I got plenty of recommendations.” It wasn’t a lie. He knew how to get on someone’s good side, and even the owner of the center liked him. It also helped that he just worked well with all the staff that was there.

Look, Lance got it. These alphas were prideful as shit, and it was apparently an insult to their existence that a younger, atypical alpha was arguable one of the most successful amongst them, but that wasn’t his problem. That really seemed like a them kind of issue.

He could almost see the snide comments forming, and braced himself for it, but a very happy, high pitched noise caught his attention, followed be a call of his name. Lance looked around, his smile growing wide as he saw Keith coming towards him, carrying a smiling bundle in his arms.

“Mija!” Lance eagerly scooped Karina out of Keith’s arms and held her up high in the air for a second, her excited baby giggles making everyone but the most cold-hearted of people around them smile. He brought her close, nuzzling his nose against hers, while supporting her neck again. She was able to hold it up more often than not on her own, but he didn’t want to hurt her. “What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be with your grandma?”

“Acxa’s plane was delayed,” Keith explained as he pressed close to his side. Lance moved Karina to one arm, slinging the other one over his shoulder. “So mom went to go get her a few minutes ago, and decided to drop the baby off here with me instead of waiting in the airport or the car.”

He knew that his husband had been here, but assumed that he wouldn’t see Karina until he got home. Krolia, like the blessing she was, had stayed with them very frequently over the past few months.

She was originally scheduled to come a few days after Karina was born, but since Keith called her when he was in labour, she booked a flight earlier and showed up the day their baby was born.  
  
For the first two weeks after they brought Karina home, Krolia stayed in the main house with them. It was absolutely amazing to have a third person there that would get up with Karina in the moments when she wasn’t hungry, because that was all Keith until he started pumping milk. After that, Krolia migrated to their guest house, but was there to help in the daytime. After that first month, she decided that she was going to visit much more often, every other month or so, that way she could split time between her children, and also see her granddaughter more often (though Krolia considered Haru a grandson as well, so she wanted to be there for him too).

Not that she was their only support system. Lance heard awful stories about omegas and beta mothers that suffered from mild to severe forms of post-partum depression because they were suddenly alone with their child and isolated from the rest of the world, but not in this case. They had their moments with just them, but they had such an amazing support system that was ready to help them at any point. Seriously, even Pidge was in on it. She might have been rough on the outside, but it was clear that even she had fallen to Karina’s charms.

Lance couldn’t blame her, his baby was _beautiful_. He would absolutely be a prideful, boastful alpha about how amazing his family was.

Anyway, Krolia was with them that month, and Acxa decided to join them for a few days to celebrate her and Keith’s upcoming 25th birthday, and to meet her niece for the first time. All of that was coming in a few days.

Lance was excited for that. He was excited his baby was there to see him while he was in his graduation gown (she was picking at the sash with wide-eyed interest). He was just excited in general.

“Did you see Papá on the stage? Did you?” Lance asked, raising his voice, and earning a happy shriek in response.

“She did, and she’s very proud of her Papá.” The alpha looked down at his husband, who was staring at him with a pure adoration that made Lance’s heart go wild. He couldn’t stop himself from leaning forward and kissing him, because why the hell not? His man was hot, and loved him, and believed in him more than anyone else.

Karina apparently disagreed, flailing and making an ‘ah’ sound.

Lance snorted. “I’m allowed to kiss Mama.”

She didn’t understand, but still narrowed her tiny, blue eyes at him, bow-lips twisting into a pout that looked hilariously like Keith’s. Eye colour and skin tone aside, she looked so much like Keith that it was crazy. His husband said she had his smile, and maybe that was true, but when she was annoyed, she was all Keith. She was also a mama’s girl through and through.

To that point, she turned her attention back to Keith and squirmed more. Lance reluctantly let him take her back into his arms, but didn’t let her obvious preference bother him too much. It did funny things to his heart to see is terribly handsome husband holding their beautiful little girl who was growing like a bad weed.

Someone cleared their throat behind him, and Lance looked around. He completely forgot about the conversation he was having before Keith and Karina showed up. When he saw their faces, Lance wanted to laugh hysterically. Keith clearly wasn’t what they were expecting.

“So you do have a mate,” one of them said, their surprise obvious in their scent.  
  
“Yeah, I never hid that,” Lance replied slowly, and Keith leaned into him more. He almost jumped with surprise when Keith nuzzled him affectionately, and then looked at the other alphas with an almost innocent look to him.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Keith said, keeping his normally gruff voice light. “I’d be happy to go sit with your omegas while we wait for all of you.” There was a long pause as they stared at Keith, who stared back, unrepentant. “Oh, sorry, you don’t have any? Getting a bit old, aren’t you?”

Lance almost cackled when he realized exactly what he was doing. Keith must have been close enough to hear them, must have realized these were the people he had trouble with. So he amped up what people expected a stereotypical omega to act like: simpering over their mate and child, and trying to stay out of alpha business, and then ripped them down by pointing out that _they_ didn’t have mates and children. Now that he thought about it, he realized that Keith was even leaning on him in a way that made him look shorter than he _actually_ was. More like what people would expect of an omega.

God, Lance loved his husband so much.

“Come on, we should get going. My parents are planning a big party in _our_ house.” Due to the size of it, their way-too-big house had become the defacto gathering house. Oh well. The neighbours found them delightful despite that.

The neighbourhood omegas even tried to get Keith to _socialize_ with them. It was hilarious.

Lance guided Keith away, who leaned back a bit as they moved away from the alphas. “You know I really am proud of you, right?” He bounced Karina a bit, the child giggling before she leaned her head on Keith’s shoulder and inhaled, her tiny, infant scent exuding contentedness, no doubt because of how happy her parents were.

The alpha regarded his husband and baby with fond eyes. It seemed like yesterday that Keith was sleeping, blissfully numb with pain killers and full from the lunch Lance got for him, while he cradled their brand new baby in his arms. Now their sweet little girl had started to roll over and try to scoot around. Not to mention she had a strong grip on her. Hell, more nights than not, she was able to sleep through the whole thing. She was growing so fast.

Not just that, but Keith was turning 25 soon. Lance met him when he was 22, so time needed to slow the heck down. Though it felt like Keith was always a part of his life, so there was that. “I _guess_ I believe you.”

Keith’s eyebrow rose up, a smirk crossing his lips. “You guess? What do I have to do to prove it?  
  
“I could think of a couple things.” He wiggled his own eyebrows, earning a chuckle from his mate.

“Maybe.” That was totally a yes. “Come on, your Papá was waiting to see you for pictures, but I said I’d find you.”  
  
“You just got tired of the family unit.”

“There are so many people, and they all want to hold Karina.” She shifted a bit at the sound of her name. It wasn’t likely that she actually knew it was her name yet, but according to the books Lance read, she was probably starting to associate the sound with her. “Yeah you. You’re _popular_. This is supposed to be your Papá’s day.”

Lance laughed at that, joy welling up within him. “Oh, it is my day, and we’re getting those cute pictures.”

These graduation pictures would be different from the other ones he had. Neither Hunk nor Pidge were there for them (though Pidge would be at the party later, and Lance completely understood her desire to not be near another graduation when someone as brilliant as her couldn’t graduate again because she was an omega), neither was his abuelo, but the rest of his family would be, and so would Keith and Karina.

Lance couldn’t wait to hang up the picture of him in his graduation gown, arm around Keith, Karina pressed between them. He couldn’t wait to look at it again and again, to remind himself of how far he’d come, and everything that he was working hard for (himself and his family).

Graduations might suck, but it meant he could turn his back on those other jerks and walk towards his future with confidence, knowing that the people around him genuinely believed in him.

That meant more than he would ever be able to show.


	15. ...In October

Let it be known that Lance was _that_ person that got excited for Pumpkin Spice Lattes. How could he not be when they were perfect? They were the quintessential flavour of autumn, in his option. Sure, his husband begged to differ, but he was a fiend for caramel and apple flavoured things so Lance could have his pumpkin spice without judgement, thanks.

It was a good day in all. Work was very productive, and they were able to release a healed turtle back into the wild. Those days were always the best, because it reminded Lance of why he loved his field of study. He loved being in the ocean, and he loved the animals. He loved helping them and returning them to their homes. It reminded him again and again that they were nothing like those other places (fuck Sea World).

That said, he kind of wished that he lived in a place where autumn included golden and red leaves as far as the eye could see. Sure, they had sweater weather too, but it was _different_. Maybe some year they could take a trip to a place like that for a few days.

Those thoughts ran through his head as Lance walked into his ridiculously big home. Seriously, it was almost hilarious just how big it actually was and that they actually lived there. He and Keith were a mess. As it was, they didn’t truly open it. They were more or less renting it from Allura and Shiro.

Despite the fact that the house was still unsettlingly big, it also felt a lot more homey than when they first moved in and everything was just so staged and almost untouchable. It wasn’t a mess by any means, but it looked like a family actively lived there, and it was nice.

Except, it was entirely too quiet, and that wasn’t normal at all. Lance took his bag off of his shoulder and set it down, straining to listen. Then he heard a happy shriek, and his own smile appeared in response.

Instead of kicking off his shoes, he made his way to the back door and peered outside, his heart nearly melting.

They had gotten one of those little turtle-shaped sandboxes, and Karina absolutely loved it. She was just a little over a year old (Well, around 16 months, but Keith thought it was ridiculous when people counted like that and just answered that their daughter was one. Lance on the other hand wanted to count every second so he used 16 months.) and was already a little demon. A very cute, very happy demon.

She was laughing loudly at the apparent destruction of what seemed to have been a sand castle, no doubt at the hands (or paws) of her loyal partner, their four-month-old, super energetic puppy, Kosmo.

Kosmo was an absolutely beautiful black and white husky with vibrant blue eyes. They actually got him from one of the neighbours, whose dog had puppies that they were giving away, and Keith had fallen head over heels for the little guy the second he saw it.

That didn’t at all surprise Lance. He knew that Keith always wanted a dog, but couldn’t have one because his sister was allergic. The pure delight on his face when they agreed to get the puppy was indescribable. Seriously, Lance swore that when Keith held the puppy to take it home that he stared at Kosmo with an adoration the rivalled the way he looked at their daughter.

Not that Lance didn’t adore the little guy too. No, Kosmo was an amazing addition to their familiar and he was beyond cute. Karina loved their fluffy little friend too, and despite the fact that she was only a year old, she learned very quickly to be gentle and not to grab fur. It was amazing what babies could pick up when they were actually taught. There were a couple slips here and there, but that was okay.

Since Keith was the one that stayed home (it really seemed like there were new restrictions on what Omegas could do almost daily now), he had taken the lead in training Kosmo to hilarious results.

Sure, he could get the dog to come to his side almost like he was teleporting, but fetch? It just didn’t happen.

(Though Lance got him to do it when Keith was out, and he couldn’t wait to brag about that. It would drive Keith bonkers.)

Lance leaned against the doorframe as he stared at his family. Keith knelt alongside the sandbox, flipping over a little plastic pail. Karina stopped laughing and stared at the bright red object with wide eyes, watching as Keith lifted it to reveal a perfect pile of sand.

Kosmo immediately jumped onto the sand pile, and Karina cackled in pure delight. Keith smiled warmly at the two of them, doing it again only to get the same results.

Karina laughed so loudly that she ended up flopping backwards. He little eyes locked onto Lance, widening with delight. “Papa! Pa!”

At her words, Keith glanced up towards him. His brow furrowed slightly, and he picked up his phone from the ground to look at it. Lance watched as his brows then shot up and he looked towards him almost guiltily. “Sorry, I didn’t realize what time it was. I meant to make supper.”

Lance laughed and shook his head, Kosmo immediately running to him and bouncing around excitedly like the little weirdo he was before zooming back towards Keith, nearly knocking Karina over. She didn’t cry or anything though, instead laughing joyfully again. Bless their easy going baby who only used her crocodile tears strategically. Normally when she didn’t want to be left with someone else and wanted him or Keith instead.

He flopped onto the ground beside his family, pressing a kiss to Keith’s temple. “That’s fine, I like cooking with you.” It wasn’t even just a statement to make him feel better. Lance genuinely did enjoy cooking with Keith. It was a time to talk and work together, and yeah goof off a little bit.

Instead of thinking on that though, he leaned down towards his very happy baby, who crawled up onto his lap. “There’s my sweet girl. Did you have a good day?”

She babbled at him, not exactly great at speaking yet, but that was normal. He recognized a few words, like ‘pa’, ‘ma’, ‘kos’ and a few other things. She was just so, s_o_ precious.

Kosmo tried to climb up onto him too, but when he couldn’t lick Lance’s face, he turned to Karina instead, who shrieked and laughed loudly. “No, no, no, no, Kos.”

Keith scooped the puppy into his arms, who twisted around excitedly. He then set him onto the ground again, and Kosmo took off running around the yard like the hyperactive creature he was.

Keeping Karina close, Lance reached out to sling an arm around Keith’s shoulder. “Did you have a good day?”

  
“We didn’t do too much,” Keith admitted. “But yeah, it was good. Eli tried to stop me when we went for a walk earlier.”

“Ooooh. Share the tea.” When Keith decided that he was going a bit crazy staying in their house, and he was feeling insecure with his body due to the baby weight, he took to walking and running around the neighbourhood with a stroller. That seemed to signal to other local omegas that he was new flesh to drag into their little world of petty gossip. Eli was one of the worst ones for gossip. Or the best, depending on if he liked you or not.

Despite his best efforts, Keith apparently landed in the ‘like’ category. It was really funny, because the two of them were so different. Sure, they were both very comfortable and happy with who they were, including the fact that they were both male omegas, but they were both very different people. Plenty of people mistook Keith for an alpha at first. He was very masculine, with broad shoulders and strong arms, wearing dark, simple clothes with a leader jacket and fingerless gloves more often than not.

Eli, on the other hand, thrive on fitting into the role of what people said male omegas should be. And hey, if he was happy with himself that way, who was Lance to judge? Everyone could be what they wanted.

Anyway, Lance was almost jealous that Keith was forcibly assembled into the group of local gossips, because really, he was the one that would have thrived in that environment and always wanted to know what was up. Luckily, Keith dutifully reported everything.

They went inside and Keith told him the newest gossip, being sure to roll his eyes to show just how ridiculous he thought it was.

That was how Lance found out that Halloween was apparently a big thing around here, and honestly, who was he to turn down the chance to go hard on decorating? There were two very important events in October, and he wanted to go hard.

“So I take it you don’t want everyone here for your birthday?” Lance teased him as he put Karina in her high chair, knowing full well that almost everyone in the neighbourhood drove him nuts. 

“God no, but they’ll probably show up anyway,” Keith groaned as he started digging through the cupboards. “Macaroni and cheese?”

“Sounds good.” Lance went into the fridge and fished out some baby carrots and a little bit of ranch dressing. He put them on a small plate and gave it to Karina, sneaking one of them to eat himself. They always tried to give her some form of vegetable with every meal. For what it was worth, once she got her little teeth in, she was all for eating almost anything she could get her hands on. It was a bit alarming at times actually. They’d stopped her from munching on things all the time.

Needless to say, Keith had voiced just how glad he was that she wasn’t nursing anymore. As Lance watched her eat her small pre-supper snack, he couldn’t blame him. Those little teeth hurt.

Once he was satisfied that she was going to be good, he moved back over to his husband and wrapped his arms around him, resting his cheek on his head. Keith paused in his struggle to open the bag of noodles, leaning back into him a little more. “Rough day?”

“Actually no, it was really good,” Lance admitted with a small shrug. “I just really love hugging you.”

“You sap,” Keith said, his chuckle shaking his shoulders as he set the noodles down and twisted around to face him.

Lance’s heart leapt when he met those deep indigo eyes, and once again, he was blown away that by sheer dumb luck he managed to get this man to fall in love with him. He wished that he could go back in time and tell his younger self that things were going to end up amazing.

Sure, sometimes they struggled with money, but they had that security that they wouldn’t lose their home and end up on the streets with their baby and puppy, and that was a huge help when it came to stress. And yeah, life was an absolute mess for most omegas in a legal sense, but this little spot in the world they carved out together was so, so good.

He would love to go back in time and assure his younger self that not only would he end up with his dream job, but he would live in an amazing house with the hottest husband in the world. Not to mention their sweet baby girl, and super cute puppy.

Their supper was quick to pull together, even if they used real cheese and not that boxed nonsense. So Lance didn’t feel bad about pulling Keith away once he had the noodles in the warm water, spinning him around.

“You dork,” Keith laughed but went with the motions, dancing with him to nothing but the faint sound of the television from the other room.

Apparently, they were very entertaining to their daughter, who laughed every time they spun around. She clapped her hands together and then held them out. “Me too.”

“Sorry baby, you need to sit so we can eat,” Lance said to her, earning a pout that looked so much like Keith’s that it was entirely too endearing. “We can play a bit later. Did you do crafts today?”

After doing some research, they decided to keep her on a schedule, which included meals, naps, playtime, tv time, reading time, craft time (which also really doubled up as learning time), and of course time for errands. Sure, some days they had to shake it up a bit, and it was difficult to stick to every day, but they tried. She seemed to like it, often time leading the way to where they needed to go.

Except for the time out corner, she avoided that like the plague and hated it with as much passion as her teeny body to could. If she was a brat though, she went into the corner until she was ready to genuinely apologize for what she had done (which they explained to her while putting her there, because she was still only a year old and couldn’t always parse out what was going on).

Once their food was ready, Lance set his and Keith’s plates on the table on either side of Karina’s highchair. Well, she was actually seated at the head of the table while they were across from one another beside her. He’d read an article about how they should exemplify good habits they wanted her to pick up, so putting her in a position to easily see them both seemed like a great idea, plus they could both reach her easily if needed.  
  
Affection rushed through Lance as sat down, Kosmo going to sit in his oversized bed in the corner. He watched as Keith immediately gave Karina her little fork before she could dig in with her hands, softly correcting her. Good god, what had he done to get such an amazing husband?

Keith said the same thing about him sometimes, but Lance was sure he was the real winner between the two of them.

Karina stabbed her food one little noodle at a time, slowly feeding herself. She kept missing her mouth, smearing cheese on her face. It was really just the cutest thing.

Lance smiled broadly. Sure, maybe he would have loved some autumn aesthetic time with his family, playing amongst red and golden leaves, but he adored this life that they had and wouldn’t change it for anything.

…

Pidge was always kind of impressed by how clean her friends kept their ridiculous rich- person home. Sure, they did have a really nice team of cleaning ladies come in for their guest house (a pair of awesome omegas, a mother and son, who were _down_ to go at the alphiarchy at any time of day), and sometimes they helped them a bit, because apparently Keith and Lance were actually nice people. Or just completely hopeless. Pidge was sure it was a mix of the two. In general though, she was impressed because this was two men in their 20s, with a one-year-old, and they kept their place nice. Lived in, but nice.

That was why their kitchen stood out like crazy, because it looked like pumpkins had exploded. It was great.

“A pumpkin party,” she said, staring at Keith with amusement when she arrived earlier, birthday present in hand.

“Lance’s idea,” Keith assured her, and Pidge believed it. Lance would be the one to want to celebrate Keith’s birthday to its fullest, and of course a lot of people they knew now had kids (Ew, when did _that_ happen?) and they needed to be entertained somehow. Hence the manic (and kind of brilliant) idea of having Keith’s birthday double as a _pumpkin party_ for kids.

Somehow, it kind of worked.

Karina also seemed to be _thriving_. Honestly, the baby reminded Pidge a lot of Keith, but she could absolutely see her being more of a social butterfly. The little drama queen was having a great time making a mess with the gooey pumpkin insides as parents cleaned them out and took the seeds away.

Her blue eyes turned away from Rachel, who was pointing at a pumpkin seeds and saying something. The little girl positively lit up and yelled, “Pid! Pid!” Something akin to victory rushed through Pidge as she abandoned Rachel, her biological aunt, and came to her instead.

  
Suck it, Rachel, she was the favourite.

“Hey Shrimp,” she said, grabbing the baby’s hands (which were kind of gross because pumpkin guts) and letting her ‘walk’ up her legs. It was something she’d seen Keith so many times. Pidge then looped her arms around her to hold her up. “You being good?”

“Pumpin,” she pointed at the pumpkins

“Yeah, those are pumpkins. They’re all over you too.” Pidge stood by the fact that she held no desire to be a mother herself, but she was incredibly fond of Karina.

Karina twisted in her arms to point at the table. “Mama, pumpin birf.”

Keith, after abandoning her when she showed up, seemed to be quite into carving pumpkins, but Pidge couldn’t find it in her to be surprised. This seemed right up his alley. Probably the fact that he was a fall baby. Veronica had plopped a ‘birthday boy’ had on his head at some point, and honestly, it was kind of hilarious.

“That’s right, Mama birf,” Pidge agreed and started to move arund the room, looking for the second half of the disaster duo. She was surprised that Lance left Keith’s side, given it was his birthday and he was a major sap.

Speaking of, she moved around the room until she found the second half of the disaster duo.

At the same time, she wasn’t at all surprised to find Lance gossiping like a teenage girl, that’s just who he was as a person.

“Papa!” Karina called out, instantly drawing his attention.

Lance smiled at the two of them and left the person he was talking to, coming over to her instead. She always appreciated when he did things like that, because this world was so different from the one they lived in together in their late teens and early 20s.

“Didn’t realize they released the gremlins so early this year,” he teased her. Never mind, some things really never did change.

“I’m going to go for your knees, and your child will help me,” she insisted, bouncing Karina in her arms. “Isn’t that right?” The baby laughed in agreement.

“Uh, no. I’m her favourite, you can’t turn her on me.”

Pidge gave him a flat look. “Karina, who’s your favourite? Papa or mama?”

Said baby’s eyes lit up as she twisted around in Pidge’s arms to look for Keith. Lance groaned dramatically. “That’s _cheating_.” Everyone knew that Karina was a mama’s girl through and through.

“Speaking of your other chaotic half—who I think is carving with a _dagger_—how did you get him to agree to this madness?”

Lance wiggled his eyebrows. “I’m very persuasive.” His smile then turned fond. “Seriously though, it wasn’t that hard. Karina was too little to like this whole thing last year, so it was easy to talk him into it. And he might have had a few glasses of sparkling cider.”

That genuinely surprised her. Keith was known for his dislike of alcohol, having consumed it once (as far as she knew) since they got back from Vegas. Now that she thought about it, he was pretty mellow at the moment, just going with the flow. Like he had a buzz but nothing bad.

It spoke a lot about how safe he felt there. Honestly, she understood. There was something about this place in particular that felt just as safe as her own home.

“Down plea,” Karina spoke up, and honestly, that was just the sweetest thing ever. Pidge cooed a bit as she sent the baby down on the floor. In turn, Karina took off like a shot, running full tilt across the room to Keith. She and Lance both watched as the omega immediately dropped the knife, scooping her up into his arms instead.

Pidge cast a glance up at Lance, who was watching the scene with such a sappy look that it made her roll her eyes and hide her own little grin.

Later, when everyone was singing a horrible rendition of Happy Birthday to Keith, Pidge volunteered to take a video. He sat at the head of the table, Karina in his lap staring at the cake with wide eyes (26 candles were a lot more than the single one she had back in May), while Lance stood behind them, hands on Keith’s shoulders.

Afterwards, everyone laughed as both Karina and Lance smeared a little bit of cake on Keith’s face, and Pidge couldn’t help but snap some pictures to send off to Hunk. She knew he’s coo at how adorable the little family was.

It was crazy to think that Keith wasn’t always in their lives. He just fit so well. Though Pidge knew Lance when he was dating Nyma, she still couldn’t picture anyone else with him now. They just worked so well together. It felt right to see them horsing around. It felt right to see them as individuals passionate about their own interests (Lance with marine life, and Keith with art). It felt right to see them together as parents. Hell, it felt right thinking of them with even more little ones, and grandkids, and being happy and harping on one another on a porch in old age.

Honestly, if she wanted a relationship (which she still did not), Pidge knew exactly who she’d want to model it after.

…

Keith never thought himself a sentimental person, but over the past couple years he realized that his younger self was absolutely wrong about that. Sure, he could let the past go, but wanted to remember all the good things.

He was always a pretty self-assured person, and that could come across as arrogant at times. He’d been accused of such things in the past, and could admit that there was probably truth in some things. When Keith was positive in something, he never wavered.

And right now, he was not going to waver on the fact that his daughter was _precious_. How he’d actually grown something so intrinsically _good_ within him, Keith would never know. She had to get it from her father.

Last Halloween, she was only five months old, and couldn’t truly enjoy it. That didn’t stop them from putting her in a tiny pumpkin costume, accenting her chubby cheeks. This year though, they let her have a little bit of impute. As in, they took her with them shopping, and held up different costumes they liked. The one that she tried to grab was the one they bought.

That was how they ended up with their little girl dressed in a shimmering blue dress with holographic details and white tulle to puff it out bigger on the outside. She had little matching wings on her back, and instead of a simple plastic crown, they’d made her a flower one instead. She was their little fairy princess through and through, and Keith knew just how adorable she was.

Keith almost preened at the fact that Rachel, who volunteered to stay at their place to hand out candy since she only had an apartment where that wasn’t allowed, immediately turned to her wife and said that they should have a baby. Yeah, his little girl was just that cute.

Karina seemed to know it too. She walked around in her unapologetic, haphazard way, waving the little wand that came with the costume around as she went. Kosmo seemed particularly eager to try and play with that part of her costume, eagerly running around after her until they put him in his harness.

Keith thought Kosmo was precious too. He had a blue scarf around his neck to match the blue tulle on Karina’s skirt. How Lance found it, he’d never know. It was amazing though.

They could have gone trick or treating around their own neighbourhood (despite the fact that another parent held a Halloween party the day before), but decided to go around Lance’s parents’ neighbourhood instead.

It was nice. This was more the type of place that Keith pictured raising a child in, but he wouldn’t be picky because their place gave them the chance to save money for the future, and the chance to easily grow their family in whatever way they wanted to. 

Keith stood beside the stroller that they brought with them – both for when Karina got tired and to store candy in. He held Kosmo’s leash in his other hand, the puppy being surprisingly good as he looked around at all the different kids walking around.

They’d seen Sylvio and Nadia earlier, Luis trailing behind them as they walked with Javier from house to house. It was crazy to think that it’d been three years already since they dressed up as the Avengers and took them out. The year after that, he’d been pregnant and too tired to go out. After that, they visited Lance’s parents but mostly just stayed home with their baby girl in her cute pumpkin costume.

His lips ticked up in a smile as Lance knocked on the door, and took a step back to leave Karina in front of it. Keith couldn’t hear her from where they were, but knew that she uttered some adorable variant of trick or treat. They practised it at home, coming up with a variety of things, including ‘tree or tree’, ‘tree or teat’ (Lance laughed a lot at that one), ‘treat or treat’, before settling on what sounded like ‘tic-a-tree’ half of the time due to her excitement. Karina was just too cute.

The little old lady at the door fawned over her, and Karina seemed to thrive on the attention. It was probably for the best, otherwise he’d likely end up with an egotistical baby. He wasn’t about to let that happen.

Lance held Karina’s small hand in his large one as they walked back with their spoils. A content purr rumbled in Keith’s chest as they approached, Kosmo eagerly standing up to great them. The alpha wore a flower crown on his head too, and it was almost too much for Keith’s heart to handle.

If he went back seven years to the severely, understandably traumatized person he was at the time and told him how his future was going to play out, he wouldn’t have believed it. Why would he?

Keith couldn’t say he’d do it all over again. Not with the horror, pain, and everything else that had been inflicted on him. But this made it all too easy let it all go and move on. His past was where it was meant to be now, not something that haunted him constantly.

How could all of those hardships weigh him down when he had an amazing, handsome husband who was just as astounding a father as he knew he’d be? When he had a precious child that he absolutely adored? Keith almost swooned when Lance picked Karina up and spun around, earning a happy laugh from the little one.

Lance kept her in his arms as he turned towards Keith. “I think we have a few more in us before it’s time to sleep.”

“No seep,” Karina instantly argued. No really was one of her favourite words.

“I meant Mama and I are going to sleep,” he replied to her as they started walking again. “Kosmo too. Then you’ll be all alone. Or you could sleep too with the rest of us.”

She eyed him skeptically before looking at Keith. He watched her little mind work something out before she said. “Okay. Mama flowa.” She pointed at Lance’s crown.

He gasped dramatically. “Of course, how could we forget.” He somehow managed to pry one of the flowers out of his own crown without breaking it, pushing it behind Keith’s ear, pushing back the hair that framed his face. “There, Mama’s perfect now, right?”

  
“Yes,” she agreed seemingly quite pleased. God, she was just so cute. Was it normal for a baby her age to be this way? Keith didn’t know, he didn’t care. He just loved her far too much to care.

He held out a few more houses, before Karina started nodding off and it was getting close to her bed time. She whined a little bit as Lance put her back in her stroller, stubborn to the very end, but she settled quickly enough.

Keith watched, warmth rushing through him as Lance kissed her forehead, and then scratched Kosmo behind the ear before he stood up straight. God, he loved his man so much. It was mind-blowing to think that Lance was _his_ husband. He saw the way other omegas eyed him, making him both a little possessive and also preen with some pride because hell yeah, Lance was _his_.

As he met his blue gaze, Keith knew that he wanted more of this. He wanted at least one more baby. Maybe another pet. Not right at the moment, he was very happy with how things were, but someday.   
  
“Ready to go home and get some sleep?” Lance asked.

Keith chuckled at that. It wasn’t even 7:00pm yet, and though Karina would be up bright and early in the morning (bless their baby for absolutely loving her sleep and not waking up before sunrise), there was still plenty of time left.

“You plan on sleeping?” Keith asked, his voice low and suggestive. “Because I was thinking of something else.” And, well, _maybe_ it was because he was in preheat, his heat likely to come over him entirely in the next 48 hours, but Keith liked to think that he’d love to push Lance down and (with his permission) have his way with him anyway. He just loved his husband that much.

Lance flushed a bit, but leaned in close. “I think maybe we can work that out, but let’s get these little guys home.” He pressed a quick kiss against Keith’s lips before scooping up Kosmo. The puppy was still little after all, and tired out too.

Keith nodded his head, and they set out together to go home, bags filled with treats and hearts filled with love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a little more inspiration for this universe and wanted to share. Keep in mind that this story is just one shots for now on. Some might jump forward in time, some might go back. Who knows? There's also no rhyme or reason to updates. They just happen when they happen. 
> 
> I love baby Karina. I love Klance. Though there are plenty of things I'd change in retrospect, I still love this universe.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday Keith! You're having a baby in this universe!
> 
> Me: Tells everyone who suggests this very thing at the end of What Happens In A Year that "it's a possibility"  
Also me: Knows full well that this oneshot has already been written but lies about it to hide the surprise. 
> 
> I also didn't want to label this one mpreg because not only does that have weird connotations to it, but I didn't want to spoil it via tags. The people in this universe evolved differently, and technically speaking, Keith's biological sex is completely different from men in our universe. It's a perfectly normal thing in this one. 
> 
> And yes, *immediately* after agreeing they were going to try for a baby, Lance made it happen. 
> 
> You'll also notice I started using lowercase for alpha, omega, and beta. That was on purpose.


End file.
